Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 8 September 2022
73. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the estimated revenue that would be raised by an additional surcharge of €1 per unit megawatt hour, €5 per MWh or €10 per MWh on data centre electricity consumption within the State (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42576/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraResponsibility for the regulation of the retail electricity and gas markets was assigned to the Commission for Regulation of Utilities in the 1999 Electricity Regulation Act and subsequent legislation. It is a function of CRU to regulate the market and they may set the basis for charges for use of the transmission and distribution systems. Total metered data centres electricity consumption in 2021 was 3993 GWh (CSO, 2022). As such, based on this figure, the additional surcharges detailed above would raise the below revenue: - 3,993,000 Mwh x €1 = €3,993,000 - 3,993,000 Mwh x €5 = €19,965,000 - 3,993,000 Mwh x €10 = €39,930,000However, it is worth noting that a specific surcharge imposed on a specific industry sector could breach the State Aid Rules. It is also worth noting that the CRU recently (18 August) launched a two-week public consultation on proposed structural changes to Electricity Network Tariffs to apply from 1 October 2022 to 30 September 2023. The CRU is proposing the introduction of four new tariffs - Peak or Time of Use Tariffs, Increasing Block Tariffs, a System Alert Tariff and a Decarbonisation Tariff. These changes aim to encourage energy users, particularly Extra-Large Energy Users (including data centres) to reduce/shift their demand at times of high energy demand/low renewable energy. Further information can be found here: www.cru.ie/document_group/electricity-network-tariffs-2022-23-national-energy-security-framework-response-proposals/
