Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We are straying. I am trying to make a point. ComReg has a remit to look after the customer, yet all that we are discussing is the effect on utility companies. ESB is reckoned to be making annual profits of €500 million per year. Why did it need increases?

Customer switches present another issue. The number of domestic customers who switched their electricity suppliers decreased between 2011 and 2012. I will go into the detail later. Even taking all of the factors into account, including the network costs, I still do not understand.

The witness is saying that on average there is approximately a 30% increase, between electricity and gas, over the past two years, with 40% of that relating to network costs on average. I have no doubt that all the utility companies make use of hedging. They are large companies and that is what they do. It would appear that any risk arising is effectively being borne, in the main, by the customer. These are the ordinary people with a gas and electricity bill, which are going up. The primary role of the commission is to look after these people so will the witness explain how it has facilitated these types of increases?