Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 13 October 2020
44. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Environment, Climate and Communications if he has contacted electricity and gas providers in relation to proposed increases in prices during the Covid-19 pandemic; the providers he has made contact with; the outcome of these discussions; his views on not increasing energy prices during the Covid-19 pandemic; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29962/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs Minister I meet on an ongoing basis with a range of energy stakeholders, including electricity and gas retail providers. As part of those engagements, I have met with senior management of ESB and SSE and discussed a wide range of issues relevant to my current portfolio.
The electricity and gas retail markets in Ireland operate within a European Union regulatory regime wherein electricity and gas markets are commercial, liberalised, and competitive. Operating within this overall EU framework, responsibility for the regulation of the electricity and gas markets is solely a matter for the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (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.The CRU is an independent statutory Regulator and is accountable for the performance of its functions to the Oireachtas, and not to me as Minister. The Deputy may wish to note that CRU provides a dedicated email address for Oireachtas members, which enables them raise questions on energy regulatory matters to CRU at oireachtas@cru.ie for timely direct reply. As regards CRU's role in price determination, in line with long standing policy on deregulating price setting, CRU ended its regulation of retail prices in the electricity market in 2011, and in the gas market in 2014. Given that prices are no longer regulated, they are set by all suppliers as entirely commercial and operational matters by them. Each such company has its own different approach to pricing decisions over time, in accordance with factors such as their overall company strategic direction and developments in their cost base. The position of successive Governments, for almost twenty years, has been that competitive energy markets result in greater choice for consumers and businesses, in terms of suppliers, products and prices and to support competition to drive down prices. Data from approved price comparison sites shows that consumers can make significant savings by switching energy suppliers and this can mitigate for consumers the impact of price rises. While there have been a number of recent price increases, one supplier has frozen both electricity and gas prices until March 2021 and another has reduced its price for gas by 10%, underscoring the importance of switching to avail of the most competitive offer in the market. The Government is acutely aware of the financial challenges faced by families and businesses during these exceptional times and has accordingly introduced and continues to provide an unprecedented suite of supports for households, businesses and individuals including via social welfare schemes overseen by my colleague the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection. These welfare supports include specific schemes aimed at those at risk of energy poverty including the Household Benefits Package and the fuel allowance. Additionally, my Department provides extensive supports for household energy costs, via energy efficiency grants provided via the SEAI with specific schemes aimed at those at risk of energy poverty. In this regard the July Stimulus package commits to increasing the SEAI budget by €100 million in 2021. This additional funding will be focused on community retrofit schemes, retrofit schemes supporting those in energy poverty as well as other initiatives to support the achievement of our retrofit targets. Additional detail on other new and expanded schemes as well as an increased allocation for the Warmer Homes Scheme will be announced after the Budget.
