asked the Minister for Transport and Power if he will recommend to the Electricity Supply Board that they discontinue the special service charge in relation to new applications for electricity service with particular reference to new county council cottages.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - ESB Special Service Charge.
65.
The ESB require special service charges only in respect of the relatively small number of premises which are located in comparatively isolated situations where the normal fixed charge does not yield sufficient revenue to permit connection on an economic basis even after taking account of State subsidy. The removal of special service charges could be achieved only by the payment of an inordinately high level of subsidy which I would not be prepared to recommend to the Dáil.
The ESB is precluded by law from giving preferential treatment in the fixing of charges to any consumer or group of consumers within the same area of supply and there could, therefore, be no question of treating occupiers of new county council cottages on a different basis to occupiers of other houses. I would suggest that the county councils should have special regard to the desirability of siting new cottages convenient to electricity supply so as to avoid or mitigate special service charges.
Does the Minister appreciate that the tenants of these types of cottages are poor people and that the site available is very often dictated by the location of their land? Surely the policy of the Government in relation to small farmers should influence the Minister in this regard?
I have already made a full statement on the Estimate with regard to this whole question and it has been fully dealt with on a number of occasions. I explained that only 12,000 people out of 112,000 are connected within the remote areas and that the Government have made a very considerable contribution towards providing power in rural districts.
Surely if we accept that the number involved is small, the imposition on the Government would also be small, involving very slight consideration on the part of the Minister?
I also made it clear to the House that the ESB are losing some £900,000 on the service of electricity in rural areas and which is paid for by the urban consumers. If the Deputy's suggestion were adopted and the special charges abolished, there would be a further loss of £350,000 per annum which would be passed as a burden on to the urban consumer. If we were to make this special exception, we would have also to provide for all the 12,000 consumers living in remote areas to whom I have referred. That would involve the ESB in a further loss of £330,000 per annum, and the Government have at least made a sufficient contribution to this matter.