Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 17 September 2014
1631. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources his views on correspondence (details supplied) regarding a reduction in energy costs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33161/14]
View answerI refer to the reply to Priority Question No. 1 of 17 July 2014.
While I am acutely aware of the financial challenges faced by many families at the current time, I have no statutory function in the monitoring or setting of electricity prices. Responsibility for the regulation of these markets is a matter for the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER), which is an independent statutory body. Prices are deregulated in the retail electricity and gas markets.
At a national level, the competitive energy market in place results in choices for consumers and businesses in terms of suppliers, products and prices. Such competition places downward pressure on prices. Consumers can try to mitigate rising electricity prices by shopping around and measures such as comparison websites, approved by the CER, exist to assist them. They can and should shop around to get the best possible price and service deal from suppliers.
The CER is focussed on actions that can mitigate costs for business and domestic customers, including rigorous regulatory scrutiny of the network costs component of retail prices.
Households can reduce their energy costs by being energy efficient. There are energy efficiency measures in place to assist both business and domestic energy consumers, with significant funding allocated to them. Details are available at: http://www.seai.ie/Power_of_One/Grants_Available/#sthash.OLDT5wQG.dpuf.
Under the Energy Engage Code, published earlier this year, energy suppliers guarantee that no customer engaging with them will be cut off. They will seek to identify vulnerable customers at an earlier stage and will treat each customer individually, with realistic and achievable payment plans offered to any customer in difficulty. The new Code will be independently audited to ensure that all energy suppliers are complying with it. The publication of the code followed several months of intensive work by a taskforce established to examine what could be done to better protect energy consumers in financial difficulty. While the taskforce was carrying out its work there was a complete moratorium on the disconnection of the energy supplies for all domestic customers from December 2013 to February 2014.
