What is the Airtricity Budget Plan?

We understand that it can be hard to manage bills that are larger at certain times of the year. The Airtricity Budget Plan makes it easier to pay the more expensive seasonal bills as it spreads the cost of your consumption into 12 easier to manage payments. You pay a fixed amount each month by direct debit. You have the cash-flow peace of mind of knowing how much you will be paying each month so there’ll be no fluctuations and no surprises.

Unfortunately the ABP is not available to Max Demand, Interval & Industrial Customers, however, our Customer Service team are available to help you out in any way they can.

How are my monthly payments calculated?

The Airtricity Budget Plan spreads the cost of your year’s electricity into 12 easier to manage payments. These payments are based on your most recent consumption, your previous year’s consumption and electricity prices.

So for example, if your year’s electricity is likely to be £4,800, your fixed monthly payments will be £400. You’re spreading the cost over 12 months and into 12 equal payments, making it easier to pay the more expensive winter bills.

Things can change and you may be using more or less electricity than last year. That’s why we always recommend that you submit regular meter readings. This way you only pay for the electricity you use and you avoid building up debt.

Why are my monthly payments recalculated?

We base your monthly payments on your most recent consumption, your previous year's consumption and energy prices. Sometimes these change so we regularly review your monthly payment amounts to prevent debts or large credits building up on your account.

We always recommend that you submit regular meter readings. This will help us keep track of your actual consumption and ensure you only pay for the electricity you use.

We will always contact you before making any changes to your monthly payment amounts.

What is the process? / How will I be notified of what my monthly payments are? / Why does the Airtricity Budget Plan only kick-in after my first bill?

We base your monthly payments on your most recent usage. This ensures we take into account any changes you may have made (for example any new appliances you may have bought) and also any efforts you've made to save money and reduce your usage through energy efficiency/reduction.

To do this, we issue your first bill about a month after you have transferred to Airtricity. This bill is based on your opening read with Airtricity and a recent read, so it helps us to more accurately calculate your monthly payments. The direct debit for the balance of this bill will be processed on the due date displayed on the bill. We then calculate your monthly Airtricity Budget Plan payment amounts. We will send you a letter explaining fully the amount of your monthly payments and also the date the direct debits will be processed - both the amount and the date of the payment will be the same each month.

We regularly review your monthly payment amounts to prevent debts or large credits building up on your account. If you are paying too much or too little we will adjust the payments. We will always contact you before making any changes to your monthly payments. We will send you a letter explaining the changes and will include full details of your new monthly payment amount and dates.

We will issue a statement every 3 months. This statement will contain all details of what has happened on your account during the period. It will show the balance on your account as at the date of the statement - this is not the amount you have to pay/are owed, this is just your balance on this particular date. There's a good chance your account will be in credit at certain times of the year and debit other times. As you are spreading your costs evenly over 12 months, this balance does not affect your monthly payment amounts.

How do I decrease my monthly payment amounts?

Reducing the amount of your monthly payments may lead to a debt building up on your account. For this reason, we advise against adjusting your monthly payment amounts.

You should however continue to submit regular meter readings. This will help us keep track of your consumption. We regularly assess your monthly payments and these meter reads will ensure we adjust the payments to reflect any changes in your consumption patterns.Reducing the amount of your monthly payments may lead to a debt building up on your account. For this reason, we advise against adjusting your monthly payment amounts.

My account is in credit, can I get a refund?

There's a good chance your account will be in credit at certain times of the year. It happens because we spread the cost of the energy you use over the year, so it all evens out into more manageable payments. The credit will be reduced over the course of the Airtricity Budget Plan period. It means that a refund isn't It actually due on your account.

What happens if the amount of energy I'm using changes?

Please contact us if there is a major change in the amount of energy you're using, for example if you extend your premises, install new machinery or change your business hours.

We also recommend that you submit regular meter readings. This will help us keep track of your consumption. We regularly assess your monthly payments and these meter reads will ensure we adjust the payments to reflect any changes in your consumption patterns.