The recent trend for householders to illuminate their homes with Christmas lights has led to an annual surge in electricity consumption, with a doubling of electricity output during the month of December over the last five years.

Decking the entire house in lights has led to some families paying Christmas electricity bills of over 500, almost three times the regular electricity bill.

Christine O'Brien has been lighting up her home off Mountjoy Square, Dublin, for the past three Christmases and is expecting her next electricity bill to be in the region of 450.

"We put money away over the year to pay for all the lights and the electricity bill, " she said. "Each decoration costs between 50 and 70, so we add to it each year. You can get most of the decorations in Dublin, although we have gone to the North to get some of them."

O'Brien's neighbour, Sharon Ryan, has also taken to doing up her home every December, although she says that her electricity bill doesn't soar so high. "We try to turn off all the other lights in the house when the Christmas lights are on, so that way we aren't using that much more electricity, " she said.

Ryan bought most of her decorations in Dublin, although a life-sized dancing Santa was donated by her sister after she won it playing bingo.

Eirgrid, which operates the national electricity grid, says an estimated 200 megawatts of power will be used this Christmas, compared to just 100 megawatts in 2001.