SSE Airtricity has confirmed a 5.6% rise in electricity prices.

The increase will come into effect on 01 November.

The firm said the change is as a result of recently announced increases in regulated networks charges combined with an extended period of rising wholesale energy costs.

David Manning, Director of Home Energy at SSE Airtricity, said: "Today's decision is not taken lightly and is driven by rising costs outside of our control. These include recently announced increases to regulated charges for using the electricity networks, which affect all suppliers, as well as prolonged increases in the cost of wholesale energy on global markets.

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"From 2013, energy costs fell enabling us to reduce electricity prices three times and cut our average household bill by €83. Over the past year however external costs across the energy sector have been steadily rising. We’ve sought to insulate our customers from these rises for as long as possible, however regrettably at this time we have no option but to increase our prices. Despite this, the average SSE Airtricity household electricity bill is still €34 cheaper than it was four years ago."

(CD/MH)