Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I apologise that I had to step out of the meeting, so if I repeat questions, I ask our guests to ignore them. How is the network charge element of the ESB's price set? There has been some controversy about the extent to which network charges should be stable but there seem to have been increases in standing charges and that has caused people considerable concern.

To what extent is the additional €2 billion wholesale energy cost built into the price the ESB is charging customers and how much of it has yet to be seen on bills?

It is disappointing that even the ESB, as the best company, has activated only one in six of the smart meters. Does the reason for this relate to general data protection regulation, GDPR, restrictions, and have our guests spoken to the Data Protection Commissioner to see whether there are ways in which, during a crisis of this nature, we can get round some of those GDPR restrictions that might be in place? It is in all of our interests that people have the opportunity not only to reduce their bills but also to switch their electricity use to the time when renewables are on the system.

The ESB is significantly increasing its daytime rate for those who use smart meter charges and the very low rate applies at between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. It is difficult for consumers to regulate their consumption to have peaks between those hours. Can it be made a little more user-friendly, perhaps even by changing the times in order that when there is plenty of renewable energy, the company will not charge consumers an excessive rate? These meters can accommodate dynamic pricing, and it seems that the charges the ESB is publishing might not be very attractive to people.