Noel Harrington (Cork South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the presentations. The price reductions during the past four or five months have been welcomed by consumers. In the past year the consumer has been looking at plunging oil prices and expecting to see a correlation in their energy bills. They are demanding it, rightly so.

In the course of the meeting the delegates have clarified how wholesale gas prices affect the companies. They have outlined the projections, the fixed costs, the other increasing costs and foreign exchange rates. I would like to address a few points in that context.

It was stated oil prices, for example, the Brent crude oil price, did not materially affect energy prices. It has been put to me that long-term natural gas supply contract prices are indexed against the Brent crude oil price. I would like to have it confirmed that they are so indexed and that they are not matched, but that there is a long-term correlation between crude oil prices and natural gas prices.

It was stated that in 2014 the reduction in the wholesale price of natural gas was about 18%. The media, however, report that the average wholesale price of natural gas in 2014 reduced by 27%. That is a major difference, a difference of 9%. The point was made that the consumer price was based on the projected price in 2015. I suggest the reduced wholesale price in early 2014 could have been the future price for 2015 and that consumers should enjoy higher reductions than 2%. I accept the point made about foreign exchange variations and the fixed costs of companies, but in view of the reductions ranging from 18% to 27% in 30% of the companies' costs, I would like to know what is the story.

Many members have touched on my second point, offering reductions based on a consumer switching between companies. This is punishing loyal customers. Consumers find it hard to understand why they cannot be offered a direct reduction in the price they are charged but instead have to switch providers to get the best value. This is a direction from the office of the Commission for Energy Regulation, but from the consumer's point of view, why should he or she have to switch to be offered the discount the companies have enjoyed in the wholesale market?

My third point concerns the impact of renewables. It is estimated, but I could be wrong that 19% to 30% of our energy comes from renewables, mostly wind energy. It is supposed to be cheaper to produce electricity using wind energy rather than gas. The consumer, through the PSO levy, has paid for the capital investment in renewable energy projects. What impact did such projects have on reducing energy prices in the previous three or four years?

I do not know if each of the companies offers different price matrices to business than to the domestic market. What is the ratio in commercial and domestic energy consumption? Commercial consumers have clout that the domestic consumer does not have. I do not think the domestic consumer receives the same support from the Commission for Energy Regulation as the domestic consumer in the North. I also suggest a customer in the North might be very anxious to know how his or her prices compare to those in the South given that the foreign exchange rate does not apply to them.

I welcome the 2% reduction in price for the domestic consumer, but it is not enough.