Mr. Jim Dollard:

I cannot speak for my colleagues but I suggest it is the same for those operators. For us our dual fuel current offering in the market place discount is available to existing customers as well. They do have to sign up to certain contract types and all of that. Some people are not able to do that and I recognise that. It is true that discounts are available to existing customers. I made a comment earlier which I think the Deputy is driving towards, that is, the loyal customer. That is an issue. If we look at what is happening in the area of health insurance, it appears to me that there will be significant competition in the next few years. That is a factor of competition. As the market opens up there is fierce competition in the energy industry and when that is worldwide it is driven primarily by discounts because that is how the competitors, our competitors, gain share. It has driven our cost base down and it has made us more effective but as the market matures - this is a personal view - we have to move more and more towards loyalty. We did some work last year in the area of loyalty schemes and they are not insignificant.

We also have to be mindful of how we treat customers in duress. Affordability is a huge issue in terms of how we deal with customers. I would like to think that across the industry we are responding and we are trying to be mindful not just in the area of disconnections but in terms of people who are in trouble and who are suffering. There are some 50,000 customers in our book who are struggling and we are helping them with a significant discount. There is nothing related to switching. They are getting that discount because they need it. That is what is happening.

What is the impact of renewables? We would all probably have a different perspective on it. I am a supplier. I do not have a generator and have no licence to speak about generation but from a supplier buying renewables it is having an impact, it is suppressing prices. A tariff supports that which is a cost in the PSO, so there is this playoff and that is what people talk about in the industry. It is having an impact and it is a major factor in energy prices.