Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 20 June 2017

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment

Oversight of Commission for Energy Regulation: Discussion

5:10 pm

Ms Laura Brien:

That is not possible on a one-for-one basis. I think it is rather difficult to calculate the counterfactual with respect to what the wholesale prices would have been. However, we are generally seeing that the increased level of renewables on the system has led to a reduction in the use of fossil fuels. This applies primarily to gas because the renewables are replacing gas. Wholesale prices during the past three years have been lower than in the past. It is a combination of increased renewables and a reduction in natural gas prices, which is the fuel that sets the price on the margin. It is not really easy or possible to do a one-for-one basis, but we recognise that benefits are coming through in lower wholesale prices.

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