Large numbers of households claim that they have been shortchanged by their energy suppliers after being paid less than they expected in government electricity credit.
The energy regulator has confirmed that it has received a number of complaints about the matter.
Earlier this year, in an effort to address the cost of living crisis, the government paid each household an electricity loan of €200.
But a number of households have complained that they received only €192.08 credit on their electricity bills.
The €200 credit, intended to cushion the blow of rising energy costs, was listed on bills as a credit limit of €176.22. But the full discount is expected to be €200 if VAT is included.
At the beginning of the year, VAT on fuel bills was 13.5 pc.
In another effort to help troubled households, VAT on energy bills was reduced from 13.5 to 9 percent from early May.
Some consumers say that bills issued just after May had the lower tax rate on government credit, even though the billing period ran largely until May.
And they are annoyed that some energy suppliers postponed billing in April to take into account the lower VAT rate.
They say this is unfair and has put them short at a time when electricity bills have increased by 50 percent in the past year.
A spokesperson for the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities (CRU) said it has received a number of complaints about the matter.
When asked if it looked into the matter, they explained: “The government credit was made available to every eligible residential electricity bill from April.
“Since May 1, 2022, VAT on gas and electricity bills has been reduced from 13.5 to 9 percent. This change in sales tax affects the total amount of credit customers receive.
“If your bill was issued before May 1, 2022, you will receive a government credit of €200 on your electricity bill (€176.22 plus 13.5 pc VAT).”
The CRU said that if the bill is issued on or after May 1 this year, households will receive a credit of €192.08 on their electricity bill (€176.22 plus 9 pc VAT).
“Please note that while this may be less than you expected as a credit, you will benefit from the reduced VAT rate on your total utility bill.”
A number of consumers have complained that applying the lower VAT rate to the credit is unfair.
A customer claimed that Electric Ireland was postponing the issuance of its invoice until the lower VAT rate came into effect. “My billing cycle is bi-monthly until the 25th of the month,” they said. “The April 25 bill was issued late, which was odd. The bill was received on May 19. The VAT is calculated at 9 pc.
Electric Ireland, which is owned by ESB, admitted it had interrupted its billing process and reissued them for May.
“From May 1, 2022, the government has reduced the VAT rate on electricity from 13.5 percent to 9 percent. To ensure that our customers are billed at the correct, lower VAT rate, we have paused our billing process to facilitate this change. Billing has been paused from April 28/29 to May 16.”
It insisted that customers will only be billed for a normal 60-day billing period.
“In these cases, a customer’s next invoice is issued in a shorter period of time, but again only using a normal billing cycle, approximately 60 days,” said Electric Ireland.
How do I know if I have received the full €200 credit?
All household electricity customers would receive a credit of €200.
The credit is € 176.22, excluding VAT.
It is paid to all domestic electricity bills on bills issued through April and May.
If your bill was drawn up before 1 May, you should have received the full government credit of €200 on your electricity bill. This consists of the credit of € 176.22, plus VAT of 13.5 pc.
The VAT on energy bills has been reduced to 9 pc from 1 May. This means that if your invoice was issued on or after May 1, you have received a credit of only €192.08, consisting of the payment of €176.22 plus VAT of 9 pc.
You may notice that your supplier canceled the original government credit and reapplied it to your account at the lower tax rate.
You should be able to see how much of a credit you got by checking your bill.
The Commission for the Regulation of Utilities (CRU) is charged with overseeing the scheme.
Complaints can be made to the CRU at www.cru.ie.