Michael Colreavy (Sligo-North Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the delegates and thank them for their presentations. Let me summarise what people think. They see the wholesale price of oil and gas reducing dramatically; in percentage terms, the reduction is in double digits, yet when they drive by the petrol pumps, they see a percentage reduction in a single digit figure. They also see single digit reductions in the bills from their energy provider. Most people think the regulator could instruct the companies to reduce the cost of energy by a specified percentage figure. It took me a while to figure out that was not the way it worked.

The themes common to all four presentations this morning refer to the level of competition which encourages the delivery of value; customer switching which forces the companies to offer attractive rates to new customers; forward buying and hedging, which I understand; and the impact of Government policy on renewables and affordability measures. It was mentioned that the price of oil or gas was only one component of the overall cost to the companies, that the cost of oil was not really a factor and that margins were very modest. Currency fluctuations were also mentioned. I understand the concepts behind it.

In relation to forward buying, does each company have the expertise to conduct the negotiations, or is there a bank of international oil auctioneers that are specialists? How does the process work?