Ms Aoife MacEvilly:

First of all, I agree with the Deputy about the complexity of energy markets. Every time one thinks one has a handle on it, one finds that there is another layer of complexity waiting for one. Within that, however, the Deputy is absolutely correct to say that we must focus on the controllable costs within the overall calculation and on what we can do to drive down those costs. That can be done through enhancing competition. We are currently engaged in a redesign of our wholesale market, the I-SEM, by making the market more competitive and integrating it with the European market in order to drive down costs in the Irish market. The aim is to ensure that the generators we are rewarding are delivering better services to the customers at lower cost. That is one element of our work. On the networks, we are currently involved in a price review to try to drive down costs and drive efficiencies within the network area. That is something that we, as regulators, must continue to focus on because there is always more that we can extract in terms of efficiency, innovation and other cost savings in the market. We must keep a strong focus on that and it is absolutely core to what we do.

In terms of the switching model, a scenario where 50% of customers were actively switching would be really welcome. If that were to happen, it would force many of the suppliers to look at the issue of customer retention, which some are already doing. The cost of retaining customers in an environment where many people are switching may be lower than the cost of attracting new customers. Therefore, suppliers might start focusing their attention on retaining a loyal customer base. That would help to even out the situation where the biggest benefits are only available to actively switching customers. That said, there are loyalty programmes in place at the moment and some suppliers are trying to retain their loyal customers. The reductions that Ms O'Brien referred to, for example, will be passed on to all customers on standard tariffs.

The Deputy is also correct in his comments about the kinds of information we can give to customers to help them make informed decisions. Ms O'Brien and Ms Costello are doing a lot of work in that area so I will ask them to speak about some of their work programmes.