Frequently Asked Questions

BHEAGA stands for Better Help (with) Electricity And Gas Arrears. It's an Irish service that gives households a clear, independent figure showing exactly what is reasonable to spend on electricity and gas each week — based on official Irish data and your specific family size.

In Irish, beag means 'small'. Energy companies are large and powerful financially, while those on fixed and lower incomes are financially small — muintir bheaga. BHEAGA was created to stand alongside those people and help them understand that guidelines on what's reasonable to pay for energy are already contained in Irish legislation.

BHEAGA is designed for any Irish household that is struggling with electricity or gas arrears — whether you are a single adult, a couple, a one-parent family, or a two-parent family. It is especially focused on people on fixed and lower incomes who are most affected by high energy prices.

No. BHEAGA is an independent service, but the figures it provides are based on official Irish data — including guidelines from the Insolvency Service of Ireland (ISI), Vincentian MESL Research Centre, and the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

The calculator works in three steps: first, you select your household type (single, couple, one-parent, or two-parent family); second, you add the number of children you have in each age group (infant, pre-school, primary, secondary); and third, you instantly receive your personalised amount that makes up your weekly electricity and gas/home heating budget.

Nothing! Access to the calculator is free.

The calculator tells you how much per week is considered a reasonable amount for your household to spend on electricity and gas (or home heating). This figure is based on the ISI Reasonable Living Expenses guidelines, Vincentian MESL research, CSO median gas bill data and independent energy price comparison services.

BHEAGA provides you with the figures and knowledge to propose an affordable Payment Plan to your Suppliers and that can be used in any conversations and negotiations that follow.

We can also deal with your energy suppliers on your behalf — but you must give us something to negotiate with.

So, we firstly need you to confirm that you have made 8 consecutive weekly payments to your electricity and/or gas account of the amount outlined by our budget calculator for your family size (fortnightly or monthly equivalent payments also acceptable). Then, again for a payment of €19.27, we will not only deal directly with your supplier to get agreement to your Payment Plan Proposal, but we'll also advise you of how your supplier may be able to write off some of your arrears as well!

For more information on this service, please telephone us at 0818 12 1927 or email us at [email protected]