Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 31 January 2023

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action

Engagement with the Commission for Regulation of Utilities

Ms Aoife MacEvilly:

We understand that there are challenges, difficulties and fears in many households over the bills, particularly gas bills, that are coming through their doors after the high-consumption winter months. The electricity credit has helped on the electricity side, as can be seen from the numbers. There is no equivalent on the gas side, which can also be seen from the numbers, which are increasing. For whatever reason, there have traditionally been higher levels of debt carried by domestic customers in gas than in electricity. It can be due to the seasonal nature of bills. For example, people get high bills in the winter, pay some of them off and then catch up over the summer. We are seeing that, but the higher prices are probably having an additional impact. From our point of view, the key is for customers to be aware of their rights, the Government's campaign around reducing use, and the measures that have been put in place to support people who are struggling to pay bills. We understand there are many of them.

Regarding the statistics on disconnections and customers in debt, I will hand over to Ms Trant, after which we will deal with data centres.