Gas prices could rise by 9% this summer, Darragh O’Brien has predicted.
Amid continued chaos and uncertainty in the Middle East, fossil fuel prices have surged and the Energy Minister warned this will inevitably be passed onto consumers.
On Newstalk Breakfast, Bonkers.ie spokesperson Daragh Cassidy described it as a “weirdly specific figure”.
“Anyone who tries to make forecasts about energy prices these days can look very, very silly because it’s just so, so volatile,” he explained.
“To put things into perspective, at the start of the year I was even hoping to see a small reduction in gas prices.
“Obviously, that’s off the table and we’re definitely not going to see price cuts any time soon.”
Mr Cassidy added that while an exact figure is hard to forecast, an increase is more likely than a decrease as things are changing “on a daily basis”.
Renewables
As part of its effort to reach net zero emissions, the Government has set a target of generating 37GW of wind power by 2030.
While some hope this will cut bills in the long-term, Mr Cassidy noted that wind power “isn’t cheap, it’s not free either”.
Leitir Guingaid Wind Farm. Picture by: Eamonn Farrell/ RollingNews.ie“What I do think wind and solar are good at doing - and we've seen this in recent weeks in fairness - is keeping prices steady when the price of gas goes very, very high,” he said.
“But I don't think wind can actually push our electricity prices down much further.
“The price we pay wind farms is relatively high, there's a lot of other costs that wind puts on the system because of its variable and intermittent nature.”
Two wind turbines against the backdrop of a rising sun. Picture by: Ian Dyball / Alamy Stock PhotoMr Cassidy added that more wind would mean a small reduction in the price of electricity, as well as a more consistent cost to billpayers.
“But anyone who's thinking that we're going to get, you know, electricity prices that are 40, 50 or 60% cheaper, similar to where they were a few years ago as a result of just wind and solar, I think is going to be disappointed,” he concluded.
Main image: A hand counting up their gas bill. Picture by: Alamy.com.
