Welcome to Issue #24. The big number this week is 19 cent, the amount diesel jumped in a single month, and the excise clock starts ticking on September 1st. We also look at where half a country's worth of wind power went in the first six months of the year, the CRU's freshly rewritten Safe Electric rulebook, and why the humble bulkhead light deserves a place in the van before the evenings pull in.
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📰 Industry News
Diesel Up 19 Cent in a Month, and the Excise Comes Back from September 1st
AA Ireland figures published yesterday show diesel averaged €1.92 a litre in early August, up 19 cent since early July. Petrol is up 9 cent to €1.84. Filling a 50 litre tank now costs €9.50 more in diesel than it did a month ago, and none of that is tax: excise did not move in August, so the jump is pure wholesale market, with oil climbing again as hopes of a US and Iran peace deal receded.
The tax part starts next month. The excise cuts brought in during the spring fuel crisis, worth 32 cent on a litre of diesel and 27 cent on petrol, are being phased back in on four dates:
- September 1st: diesel up 10c, petrol up 9c
- October 1st: both up another 8c
- November 1st: diesel up 7c, petrol up 5c
- December 1st: diesel up 7c, petrol up 5c
By Christmas the full cut is gone. If wholesale prices stay where they are today, that puts diesel in the region of €2.25 a litre by December, and AA Ireland is already warning of further market increases through the autumn.
What it means for you: A diesel van doing 25,000 km a year burns roughly 2,200 litres. The excise restoration alone adds around €700 a year to that, before the market moves another cent. Any quote you write this month for work running past September is carrying travel costs that will not survive the autumn. This week's contractor tip is six practical moves to blunt the hit, starting with a full tank on 31 August.
Wind Power for 667,000 Homes Dumped in Six Months as the Grid Runs Out of Road
EirGrid figures reported by RTE show that 13.2 per cent of Ireland's wind generation was turned away in the first half of 2026 because the grid could not take it. That is enough electricity to run 667,000 homes for the period, the equivalent of every household in Dublin, Westmeath and Wicklow combined. The causes are the usual three: system security limits, local network constraints, and surplus generation with nowhere to go.
The frustrating part is what happens when the wind does get through. Strong wind output pulled average wholesale prices down 6 per cent in June to €135.52 per megawatt hour, and on the windiest days the price dropped to €111, against nearly €176 on the days the system leaned on gas. Wind Energy Ireland's Justin Moran called every lost unit "a missed opportunity" to cut reliance on imported fossil fuel.
What it means for you: Two things. First, when a customer asks why their bill stays high while the country builds wind farms, this is the honest answer: the cheap power is there, the wires to move it are not yet. Second, the fix is the €18.9 billion PR6 grid investment we covered earlier this summer, and that money is turning into real work: substations, uprating, reinforcement and connections across the country for the next five years. Keep an eye on what is being built near you, because main contractors on that programme will be looking for local electrical subcontractors throughout.
⚖️ Compliance Update: CRU Rewrites the Safe Electric Rulebook
The CRU published an information paper on 24 July confirming it has updated the Electrical Safety Supervision Criteria Document to Version 4.0. This is the document the whole Safe Electric scheme runs on: it sets out how the ESSB supervises registered electrical contractors, and it had not had a comprehensive revision since 2016.
The update brings the text into line with current legislation, the I.S. 10101 wiring rules and how the scheme actually operates day to day. The CRU classed the changes as minor, so there was no public consultation, and the structure and intent of the document are unchanged.
What it means for you: Nothing changes in how you certify work this week. But this is the rulebook your next audit or inspection is run against, so it is worth a skim of Version 4.0 on cru.ie before your renewal or if an ESSB visit is due, just so your paperwork matches the current text rather than the 2016 one you may have half-memorised.
🌿 Three Weeks of Real Summer Left: Get Ahead of the Dark Evenings
Sunset in Dublin tonight is around a quarter to nine. By the end of the month it is before half eight, and by the Ploughing in mid-September it is gone before a quarter to eight. The dark-evening phone calls, the "the side of the house is pitch black" and "we heard something in the back garden" jobs, start landing in late September. The contractors who win that work are the ones who planted the seed in August.
So while you are finishing out the summer renovation punch lists this fortnight, take five minutes to walk the outside of every job at handover:
- The side passage and back door. The most used dark route on any Irish house. A compact IP65 bulkhead, fit and forget, sorts it for a modest add-on line.
- The shed, garage and oil tank. Anywhere the homeowner will be fumbling with keys or a fuel gauge in the dark by October.
- The front approach. If there is nothing lighting the path or drive, mention it now and book the install for September before the security lighting rush proper.
None of this is a hard sell. It is one question at handover in August that turns into booked work in September.
🔦 Product Spotlight: Bulkhead Lights
The bulkhead is the workhorse of outdoor and utility lighting, and our bulkhead lights range covers the three jobs it gets asked to do:
- Domestic: side passages, back doors, porches and sheds. LED, IP65, polycarbonate diffusers that shrug off footballs and weather alike.
- Apartment and landlord work: stairwells, corridors and common areas, where a tough, low-maintenance fitting is the difference between a callback and a quiet year. Emergency variants handle the I.S. 3217 side on communal escape routes.
- Commercial: yards, fire exits, plant rooms and loading bays, where fit and forget is the entire specification.
Pair them with our motion sensor lights where the customer wants light on approach, and see the emergency lights range for maintained and non-maintained fittings on compliance jobs.
Trade pricing: Website prices are retail. On a box of bulkheads for an apartment block or a commercial yard the trade rate is worth the phone call every time. Ring the counter on 01 401 9907 or email sales@shamrockelectrical.ie with your list and we'll price it properly.
Consumer units, MCBs, RCBOs and switchgear for the boards behind these jobs remain available in-store at Greenogue. Call ahead and we'll have it ready for collection.
💡 Contractor Tip of the Week: Six Moves Before September 1st to Blunt the Fuel Hit
With 10 cent going onto diesel excise on September 1st and more every month until Christmas, here are six practical moves to make this fortnight:
- Brim the tank on 31 August. Then again on the last day of September, October and November. Each first of the month brings the next excise step. It is a small win, but it is a free one, and on a van and a jeep it adds up.
- Batch your merchant runs. One planned collection beats three panic trips up the N7. Phone or email the order ahead and collect it in one go, or use free delivery and skip the trip entirely.
- Put a travel line in autumn quotes. One sentence does it: prices assume fuel at August 2026 levels, jobs starting after October 1st may carry a small travel adjustment. Nobody argues with it when it is written down upfront.
- Requote any standing rate cards agreed in spring. A day rate set when diesel was €1.73 is already 10 per cent out on fuel, and it will be more than 20 per cent out by Christmas. Fix it now, not mid-January.
- Get a fuel card. Cleaner VAT reclaim, per-litre discounts at most networks, and no shoebox of faded receipts for the accountant in the new year.
- Lighten the van. Correct tyre pressures, strip the roof rack when it is not earning its keep, and clear out the dead stock rolling around the back. A hundred kilos of surplus cable and fittings burns real money over a year.
📅 Dates to Know
- Thursday 27 and Friday 28 August: Schools reopen. Morning traffic returns, plan the early counter run.
- Monday 31 August: Last day of the full excise cuts. Fill everything.
- Tuesday, September 1st: Excise phase one: diesel up 10c, petrol up 9c.
- Tuesday 15 to Thursday 17 September: National Ploughing Championships, Screggan, Co. Offaly.
- Tuesday 6 October: Budget 2027.
- Every Wednesday: The Spark lands in your inbox.
That's it for this week. Fill the tank on the 31st, have a read of the new Criteria Document before your next audit, and if you're pricing autumn security lighting, ring the counter for trade rates on bulkheads and PIRs. Trade counter is open Monday to Friday 7am to 5pm and Saturday 9am to 1:30pm.
The Shamrock Electrical Team
Greenogue Business Park, Rathcoole, Co. Dublin
01 401 9907 | sales@shamrockelectrical.ie
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"A fast and efficient service with minimum delay."
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📖 Previous Issues
- Issue 023: New opening hours, construction output figures, periodic inspection paperwork, wall lights for hallways and stairs
- Issue 022: RFE equipped distribution boards land at Shamrock, the fuel cost cliff, punch-list management
- Issue 021: EV grant cliff on 31 July, security lighting season, summer campaign tip
- Issue 020: Construction PMI drops to 45.4, the retrofit pivot, kitchen lighting that sells the job
About Shamrock Electrical Supplies
Shamrock Electrical Supplies is an electrical wholesaler and retailer based in Greenogue Business Park, Rathcoole, Co. Dublin. We supply professional electrical contractors and homeowners across Ireland.
Contractors who open a trade account get competitive trade pricing, reliable stock availability, and a team that knows what they are talking about.
Find Us
Shamrock Electrical Supplies
Unit 22, Block 613, Jordanstown Road
Greenogue Business Park
Rathcoole, Co. Dublin, D24 TX98
Opening Hours
Monday to Friday: 7am to 5pm
Saturday: 9am to 1:30pm
Sunday: Closed
Get in Touch
📞 01 401 9907
✉️ sales@shamrockelectrical.ie
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