Around half of Irish households have never switched their electricity or gas supplier. When researchers ask why, the same reasons come up repeatedly: fear of losing supply, belief that the savings won't be worth it, assumption that the process is complicated. Nearly all of those reasons are myths. Here is what the evidence actually shows.
Myth 1: Switching Will Interrupt My Supply
This is the most persistent myth — and the most wrong.
Switching energy supplier in Ireland does not affect your physical supply in any way. Your electricity and gas still arrive through the same cables and pipes, maintained by the same network companies (ESB Networks for electricity, Gas Networks Ireland for gas). When you switch, only the billing and customer service relationship changes. Your lights stay on, your boiler keeps working, and there is no engineer visit required.
This is guaranteed by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU), Ireland's energy regulator. Suppliers are legally obligated to complete the transfer without disruption.
Myth 2: The Savings Aren't Worth the Hassle
For a typical Irish household using 4,200 kWh of electricity per year, the gap between the cheapest and most expensive tariff is regularly €200–€400 per year. For a dual-fuel home (electricity and gas), the combined saving can exceed €500 annually when switching both fuels simultaneously.
The switching process takes around 15 minutes online: enter your details, choose a tariff, and sign up. You do not need to contact your old supplier — your new supplier handles the transfer. On an hourly basis, switching energy is probably the most financially productive 15 minutes most households ever spend.
Myth 3: You Have to Call to Switch
A decade ago, switching required phone calls, paper forms, and waiting on hold. In 2026, every major Irish energy supplier — Electric Ireland, Bord Gáis Energy, SSE Airtricity, Energia, Pinergy, Flogas, and Community Power — accepts new customers entirely online.
The process is:
- Compare tariffs at GoSwitch to find the cheapest deal for your usage
- Click through to your chosen supplier's signup page
- Enter your name, address, MPRN (electricity) or GPRN (gas) account number, and payment details
- Confirm — your new supplier contacts the old one and arranges the transfer
No phone call. No engineer visit. No interruption.
Myth 4: It's Not Worth Switching if You're Mid-Contract
Most Irish residential energy tariffs are rolling agreements with no fixed-term exit penalty. The exceptions are explicit fixed-rate plans that state a contract term upfront. If you are not on a named fixed-rate plan, you are almost certainly free to switch at any time with no penalty.
Even if you are in the final months of a discounted period, compare anyway. If a new supplier's tariff — including a new customer discount — delivers a lower annual cost than your current supplier's rate once your discount expires, the maths favours switching sooner rather than later. The 21-day cooling-off period (a legal right in Ireland) means you can reverse a switch decision with no penalty if circumstances change.
Myth 5: All Tariffs Are Basically the Same
Suppliers compete hard for new customers, and the promotional rates they offer newcomers can be dramatically different from their standard tariffs. At any given moment, the cheapest electricity tariff in Ireland and the most expensive can differ by 8–12 cent per kWh on the unit rate alone. On 4,200 kWh of annual usage, 10c/kWh amounts to €420 per year.
Suppliers also vary significantly on standing charges — the fixed daily fee charged regardless of usage. A low unit rate paired with a high standing charge can be more expensive overall than a slightly higher unit rate with a low standing charge. The only way to make a meaningful comparison is to calculate total annual cost (unit rate × kWh + standing charge × 365), which is exactly what GoSwitch does automatically.
The Actual Risk of Switching
The real risk of switching energy in Ireland is not disruption, complexity, or contract penalties. The risk is forgetting to switch again when your new customer discount expires — typically after 12 months. Set a calendar reminder for month 11, return to GoSwitch, and repeat the process. Households who switch annually typically pay 15–25% less than those who stay with the same supplier on the standard tariff for multiple years.
Switching is not risky. Staying on an expired discount is.