Data Centres Pay Less Per Unit of Electricity Than Householders.

Data Centres Usually Pay Less per Unit of Electricity Than Households in Ireland, Official Figures Show.

New analysis of Ireland’s official electricity price statistics shows that very large electricity users; latter a category that includes many data centres, typically pay a lower price per unit (kWh) than households.

Key findings (official statistics).
Figures published by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) for January to June 2025 show:

Households (average, including all taxes): ~31.7 cent per kWh
Business customers (average, excluding VAT) ~24.3 cent per kWh
Very large business users (“Band IG”, over 150,000 MWh); ~ 19.5 cent per kWh (excluding VAT)

In simple terms, the biggest users pay less per unit than households, on average, in the published data.

Why this happens (in plain English).
This difference does not necessarily mean data centres are “getting a special deal.” It mainly reflects how electricity bills are structured for different types of customers:

Household prices include more taxes. The household figure is reported with all taxes included, while business figures are commonly shown excluding VAT (and many businesses can reclaim VAT).
Big users buy electricity differently. Large industrial-style customers can often use different contract types and buying arrangements than households (who usually buy through retail tariffs).
Network charges work differently for different customers. Households and large users face different combinations of “per-unit” charges and “capacity/demand” charges. Ireland’s energy regulator, the CRU, sets and approves network revenue and tariffs for the electricity networks.

Important note
A lower “cent per kWh” figure doesn’t automatically mean the total bill is low. Very large users can still face substantial overall costs because they consume huge volumes and can have significant capacity-related charges.

Sources:
This information is based on SEAI’s published “effective electricity prices” (Eurostat-based) for Jan–Jun 2025, and CRU information on network charges and tariff-setting.

Perhaps someone will explain this to the ill informed ‘Green Party’, thus avoiding public disinformation.