Mr. Dermot Nolan:

Hedging strategies are in place, but the price has risen continually in the past two years. We directly regulate the prices of Bord Gáis, but not electricity prices. In terms of the latter, we deregulated fully approximately one and a half years ago. Bord Gáis has an approved hedging strategy whereby it buys gas over a reasonable period. It typically buys slightly more in the summer months when gas is usually cheaper. If Bord Gáis hedges more effectively and beats its target, it is entitled to keep a proportion, but the majority is returned to the consumer. If it hedges worse than that, it is Bord Gáis's problem and it only keeps what it has hedged.