Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 11 December 2013

Committee on Transport and Communications: Select Sub-Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport

Rationale for Sanctioning Energy Price Increases: Discussion with Commission for Energy Regulation

2:40 pm

Mr. Paul McGowan:

I shall try and make sure we have covered all of the other questions that were raised. One outstanding question is about electricity prices and why they might be higher in Ireland than in other areas. One point to note from an earlier slide is that gas dominates the pricing of electricity in Ireland whereas, as the commissioner, Mr. Nolan, noted earlier, other countries benefit from the wide availability of relatively cheap nuclear energy or hydro energy, which we do not have. That could be one factor on why prices are higher here than elsewhere. There is also the fact in terms of gas, for example, that it has to be transported over longer distances in order to reach the Irish market. There are a number of factors feeding into electricity prices.

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