Vol. 563 No. 6
10 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs when her Department introduced regulations to differentiate between normal residential accounts standing charges and residential business electricity accounts in relation to the free electricity allowance scheme; the number of people affected by it; the amount that people who are non-resident are allowed; and the amount that people who are resident are allowed. [8432/03]
The electricity allowance, which forms part of the household benefits package, is a non-statutory scheme. The allowance covers normal residential standing charges and up to 1800 free units of electricity each year. Recipients in rural areas receive a credit of up to €268.44 plus VAT per annum and recipients in urban areas receive a credit of up to €241.74 plus VAT per annum.
When my Department was notified by the ESB of proposed increases in electricity charges in October 2001 it became apparent that a small number of electricity allowance recipients who operated a business from their home were receiving an additional amount in excess of the normal standing charge.
For customers in rural areas operating a business from their home the additional business related ESB charge is €7.84 plus VAT per two monthly billing period. For customers in urban areas the additional business related ESB charge is €11.30 plus VAT per two monthly billing period.
In the light of this information, my Department requested the ESB to amend their customer records system to credit the correct standing charge to these people. This was completed in December 2002 and my Department issued a mailshot to the 2,313 customers identified as being affected by this adjustment. The mailshot advised customers of the situation and asked that they contact the ESB where they no longer had a residential business account so that the designation on their account could be changed from business to residential. According to the ESB, approximately 900 of these customers have had their electricity account type changed to residential.
