Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 16 November 2022
60. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if there is "no additional charge" to the consumer for the smart meter programme; if ESB Networks has absorbed this expense and received Government sponsorship from the Exchequer to this full and part amount; and if not, if it has passed this cost onto the energy providers. [56774/22]
View answerThe following reply was received on 23 January 2023.
The National Smart Metering Programme is overseen by the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities (CRU) and ESB Networks (ESBN) are tasked with the delivery of the roll out programme, which involves upgrading all of Ireland’s electricity meters to smart meters. To date over 1 million smart meters have been installed out of a total of 2.4 million to be replaced by the end of 2024.
Smart meters play a crucial role in supporting Ireland's transition to a low carbon future by enabling the development of smart grids and allowing consumers to monitor and accordingly adjust their electricity consumption throughout the day. This will not only empower consumers to reduce their overall electricity consumption and shift some consumption to times of the day when electricity is cheaper, but also can ease the pressure on our national grid by helping to manage peaks and troughs in demand.
There is no specific additional charge for individual consumers to upgrade their meter to a smart meter. However, like other meter upgrades, the overall cost of the programme (estimated to be approximately €1.2bn) is included as part of the Distribution Use of System (DUoS) tariff charged by ESBN to connected customers for use of the electricity network.
The CRU has also completed an extensive analysis of the smart meter programme and are satisfied that this investment represents value for money. The CRU also monitors the performance of ESBN with regard to the deployment of smart meters, smart meter functionality and customer satisfaction.
The Deputy may wish to note that CRU provides a dedicated email address for Oireachtas members, which enables them raise questions on general energy regulatory matters to CRU at oireachtas@cru.ie for timely direct reply.
