Bord Gáis Éireann is a statutory body charged with the obligation to develop and maintain a system for the supply of natural gas on a commercial basis.
The board applies a number of tariffs which decreases the cost of natural gas to the consumer as more gas is consumed. The board endeavours to match customers to the appropriate tariff for their usage pattern. Given the wide choice of fuels available to the consumer, Bord Gáis Éireann is satisfied that its tariffs structure is competitive and sufficiently responsive to market needs.
The Bord Gáis gas purchase agreement with Marathon Petroleum is based on a specified minimum offtake each year consistent with optimum recovery of gas from the Kinsale Head gas field. It makes commercial sense, therefore, for Bord Gáis Éireann that a consumer buying natural gas in large quantities should be able to take advantage of discounted tariffs. Discounts for users buying in bulk are already quite common in other sectors of the energy market in which natural gas competes.
I do not believe that the Bord Gáis tariff structure hinders energy conservation or is damaging to the environment. Natural gas is a clean efficient fuel and contributes both to energy conservation reducing harmful emissions as compared with alternative fuels.
