Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 5 July 2022
115. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the estimated annual cost that will be added to household electricity bills to cover the cost of acquiring 450 MW of additional electricity generation capacity, as per the provisions of the EirGrid, Electricity and Turf (Amendment) Bill 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36182/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) has statutory responsibility to ensure security of electricity supply. In this role, they have directed EirGrid, with my consent, to procure c.450 MW of temporary generation for operation from Winter 2023/24 for a period of 3 years.
Subject to revision upon conclusion of contractual terms with site owners and generation equipment suppliers, the CRU has stated that the provision of the temporary generation capacity could translate into the equivalent of €40 overall per domestic bill for the forthcoming tariff year, with slightly lower costs in the following years of operation. This estimate does not take account of the costs that would have been incurred in procuring this generation through the normal route of the Capacity Remuneration Mechanism. In addition, this estimate does not provide for the end of life value of the units, once they cease operations. This legislation also provides for the CRU to be able to direct that the PSO can be credited to customers. This credit has been provisionally calculated by the CRU to be in the order of €75 for the average domestic customer over the period from Q4 2022 to Q3 2023, which exceeds the expected cost for the same period for provision of the temporary generation. This PSO credit is on top of the announcement in April that the PSO would reduce from €58 to zero from October 2022.
