What is the government planning to tackle Irish energy bills?

In the past few weeks, energy company after energy company has announced price hikes. 

Today, Minister for Energy Darragh O’Brien will meet a number of providers and urge them to do everything they can to bring down bills. 

Among the large providers, only Electric Ireland is not planning on increasing prices. 

 “They announced, when everyone else was announcing price increases, they came out and said, ‘Listen, we’re not going to put up our electricity prices this year - at least for the moment,’” Bonkers.ie CEO David Kerr explained to Newstalk Breakfast. 

“In fact, they’ve reduced their gas prices by 4% - which helps their customers by €58 a year. 

“The Minister’s meeting today is going to the energy companies and saying, ‘Hey guys, can you please not increase your prices?’ 

“The CRU has said, the regulator, they said shockingly that the arrears figures have increased and the arrears figures for gas actually mean that 28% of all gas customers are in arrears now. 

“That’s more than one in four.” 

Solar panels on a roof. Picture by: Pexels.com

Mr Kerr continued that energy companies are insisting that they “had to put up prices now”. 

While prices have come down since the peak of the cost of living crisis, energy experts say the cost of generation has started to rise again. 

“It is about 10% for electricity and for gas,” Mr Kerr said. 

“It covers the commodity cost of the fuel, it also covers the standing charges and it means that around €200 per bill will go up over the course of the next year, which is very unwelcome. 

“We’re still in the middle of this cost of living crisis.” 

Wind turbines. Picture by: Alamy.com.

Ministers have repeatedly ruled out further energy credits in next month’s budget. 

However, Mr Kerr said there are alternatives available to the Government if it wants to mitigate the impact of energy companies’ price rises. 

“The Minister going to the energy companies and saying, ‘Please reduce your prices’ - there is no teeth in that request,” he said. 

“Where there is teeth though, I think, is that the VAT rate for electricity and gas on energy is currently at 9%. 

“That’s set to expire on 31st October; so, we would ask the Minister to look inside what they do have control of. 

“Keep that VAT rate at the lower 9%, maybe even reduce it? In Britain, for example, the VAT rate on energy is just 5% - that would really help consumers.

“It’s due to go back up to 13.5% [in Ireland] on 1st November.” 

Last year Eurostat, the EU statistical agency, calculated that electrcity prices in Ireland were the second most expensive in the bloc; only in Germany does it cost more.

Main image: Euro banknotes next to a radiator. Picture by: Alamy.com.