Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chairman for the opportunity to present the Energy (Windfall Gains in the Energy Sector) (Cap on Market Revenues) Bill 2023 to the select committee. The main pursuit of this Bill is to fulfil Ireland's obligations under EU Council Regulation 2022/1854 of 6 October 2022, on an emergency intervention to address high energy prices. It does this in accordance with Government decisions regarding the implementation of this regulation through the introduction of a cap on the revenues of specific electricity generators operating within the State. It provides for the redistribution of the collected funds back to consumers. This is an important piece of legislation that will provide for electricity consumers who have experienced exceptionally high prices, due to both ongoing post-pandemic inflation in energy market prices and as a result of the war in Ukraine. The intention is that the collection of the proceeds raised by the implementation of the cap on market revenues can then be distributed to alleviate some of this financial pressure on electricity consumers.

I thank all of the parties who helped draft this complex piece of legislation in a short timeframe. I also want to thank this committee for facilitating and expediting the process this year. As we move from the drafting stage to implementing this legislation with firms, I would like to specifically highlight the role of the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities, CRU, as the competent authority. The legislation is written to provide as much clarity and certainty as possible, but no legislation can ever be written to anticipate every potential scenario, and as such the CRU has been given significant powers of determination throughout the Bill, especially in sections Nos. 16, 17 and 18. This is to ensure the CRU has the authority to use its expertise and discretion on a case by case basis, engaging directly with firms as a designated competent authority under the European regulation. I welcome and look forward to the CRU's continued engagement with the sector in this regard. I advise that I do not propose to introduce any amendments today. I note that amendments have been tabled and I look forward to the debate.