Friends of the Earth Ireland calls for Budget 2027 action as rising electricity charges pile pressure on households

Friends of the Earth Ireland has called on the Government to use Budget 2027 to protect households from rising electricity costs by ensuring that large energy users, particularly data centres, pay a fairer share of the costs they impose on Ireland’s electricity system.

The call follows confirmation that electricity network charges will increase again this autumn, adding further pressure to households already struggling with the cost of living.

While the Public Service Obligation (PSO) levy will decrease this year, Friends of the Earth Ireland said this reflects higher wholesale electricity prices rather than any reduction in the need to invest in renewable energy.

It said the Government must now use Budget 2027 to reform how the costs of Ireland’s energy system are shared and to ensure public investment delivers lower bills, cleaner energy and greater energy security for households.

It is calling on the Government to:

● Ensure data centres pay a substantially greater share of electricity network costs.

● Rule out any public subsidies or financial supports for new data centre developments.

● Ringfence additional revenues from the sector for home energy upgrades, renewable energy and public grid investment.

● Prioritise electricity connections for housing, public services and productive industry over speculative developments.

● Introduce a moratorium on new data centres until the electricity grid can accommodate further growth without increasing costs for households or undermining Ireland’s climate targets.

Data centres now consume approximately 23% of Ireland’s electricity, one of the highest proportions anywhere in the world. Research by economist Dr Seán Fearon has estimated that data centre growth has already added approximately €715 million to household electricity bills over the past decade, with costs expected to continue rising if expansion remains unchecked.

Rosi Leonard, Network Development Coordinator with Friends of the Earth Ireland, said:

“Households are once again being asked to pay more for electricity while some of the world’s richest technology companies continue to expand their energy use at an unprecedented rate.

The reduction in the PSO levy is welcome for consumers, but it should not distract from the bigger picture. We urgently need major investment in renewable energy and in our electricity network. The question is who pays for that investment and who benefits from it.

At the moment ordinary households are carrying far too much of the burden while data centres continue to place enormous pressure on the electricity system. That is neither economically fair nor socially sustainable.”

Friends of the Earth Ireland said Ireland should follow international examples where governments and regulators are taking action to ensure large electricity users contribute more fairly to the costs they create.

This week, Britain’s energy regulator proposed introducing a new “Data Centre Commitment Fee” designed to discourage speculative projects that reserve grid capacity without using it, helping protect consumers and free up electricity connections for housing and other businesses.

Similar measures are also being introduced in several US states, including changes requiring data centres to bear a greater share of network infrastructure costs.

Rosi Leonard said continued expansion of data centres risks undermining Ireland’s renewable energy ambitions, with increasing electricity demand absorbing much of the additional renewable generation coming onto the system..

“People want an electricity system that delivers affordable bills, energy security and climate action. That means ensuring those placing the greatest demands on the system also contribute fairly to its costs.

The choices made in this Budget will determine whether public money is used to support Irish households and communities or continues to subsidise the rapid expansion of some of the world’s largest technology companies.”