Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 4 October 2022
147. Deputy Brendan Howlin asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if he will ensure by legislation or other means that tenants in multi-unit apartment complexes or buildings each have the right to choose their own electricity supplier and be able to change supplier without reference to other apartment occupiers or to their landlord; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47865/22]
View answerRegulation 6 of SI 20 of 2022 provides that electricity customers are free to choose the electricity supplier of their choice, with responsibility for regulatory oversight in this respect a matter for the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities (CRU). Gas and electricity retail markets in Ireland operate within a European regulatory regime wherein electricity and gas markets are commercial, liberalised, and competitive. Operating within the overall EU framework, responsibility for the regulation of the electricity and gas markets is a matter for the independent regulator, CRU, which was assigned responsibility for the regulation of the Irish electricity and gas markets following the enactment of the Electricity Regulation Act (ERA), 1999.
In cases where apartment blocks or groups of buildings are supplied with heat, rather than fuel, commercial rates apply, as the energy service operator is purchasing the fuel at a large scale for this purpose. In this regard, under the Multi-Unit Developments Act, 2011, Owners’ Management Companies are precluded from entering contracts of duration greater than three years, and this provides a possibility to renegotiate energy supplier contracts.
District heating, within a structured framework, is a technology that, inter alia, offers the potential to diversify fuel supply used to heat the building sector; can offer flexibility in fuel choice; and the ability to adapt to changes in the economic and policy landscape. The Climate Action Plan 2021 contains actions to provide a solid basis for the appropriate expansion of district heating in Ireland, including the establishment of a multi-disciplinary District Heating Steering Group, which was established earlier this year. The Steering Group has met eight times to date and oversees a number of Working Groups that are conducting in-depth solutions based analysis of the key areas that must be addressed in order to support district heating. The Steering Group is working on recommendations to ensure that a robust governance and regulatory framework is put in place to support the expansion of district heating. This will help ensure consumer protection, and considerations in this regard encompass legacy group heating schemes that are already in operation.
Furthermore, the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland will soon initiate a pilot feasibility study to explore the technical viability and implications of moving existing group heating schemes to renewable energy sources. This will inform the work of the Steering Group, which is due to bring its report to Government later this year.
