Michael Ring
Question:75. Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if he intends to amend the feed-in tariff (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47664/22]
View answerThursday, 29 September 2022
Questions (75)
Written answers
Responsibility for the regulation of the Electricity market is a matter for the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU), which is an independent regulator accountable to a committee of the Oireachtas. The Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) published a decision for the Clean Export Guarantee (CEG) tariff which outlines arrangements for implementation of the tariff, including eligibility criteria and remuneration methodology. As part of this, the CRU decided that suppliers will set their individual CEG tariffs on a competitive market basis which must be reflective of the market, or wholesale, value of the electricity, in line with the requirements of Article 21(2)(d) of the recast Renewable Energy Directive. I am aware that suppliers have published a range of CEG tariffs from €13.5c/kWh up to €20c/kWh which allows customers to shop around and switch suppliers to obtain the best rates for selling and purchasing electricity. I understand that the CRU propose to undertake a review of the Interim CEG arrangements after one year, including analysis of export tariffs to ensure that remuneration reflects market value, as required by the Renewables Energy Directive (RED II) and the Irish legislation which transposes RED II. It is important to note that maximising the consumption of self-generated renewable electricity will provide the most benefit to offset rising electricity costs, as well as shorten the payback period for the micro-generation investment. This can be achieved by actively matching home energy use against the peak generating times of your Solar PV system, whenever possible. Thereafter this can be supplemented with the CEG payment for excess renewable electricity exported to the grid. CRU provides a dedicated email address for Oireachtas members, which enables them to raise questions on general energy regulatory matters to CRU at oireachtas@cru.ie for timely direct reply.