Mr. Barry Sharkey:

First, customers should install a solar PV and size it to the size of their house or business. That will reduce the bill by 30%. Next an energy diverter should be installed which prevents customers from releasing surplus electricity into the grid or else battery storage should be installed. Battery storage is currently used in domestic houses, for example, in Germany where 100,000 houses have it. Then off-peak electricity should be used to fill the batteries in order that the cost of an electricity unit can be halved and the batteries can be used during the day. Each homeowner should be given a subsidy which will cut the bill by another 5% and then they should become part of the smart grid, which the ESB is experimenting with in Dingle. If one has surplus electricity, it can be given to a neighbour or somebody down the street and they can return the favour. That will reduce the bill by another 5%. Between all of these measures and by being clever and doing something new, a bill could be cut to a more manageable amount. The people will not stand for us continuing to push up electricity prices and the public service obligation, PSO, levy every year. They have to be given relief.