Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I thank the director for her presentation and insight into the way the market works. I would be interested to know if there is a schedule of what the other member states are applying in respect of the solidarity rate of 75%. This can vary between member states. I also refer to the rates that are applied under the price cap for renewables.

We are all very focused on the transition to net zero in the long term. Has the EU experienced any nervousness about sanctioning increases in gas supply and subsidies for fuel use? Many academics in the field say we should be avoiding instituting any new fossil fuel capacity and subsidies that could be construed as supporting fossil fuel consumption. How were those types of longer-term issues factored into the short-term decisions that had to be made?

Turning to the move away from marginal cost pricing in the market as the dominant daily way of setting prices in favour of setting longer-term contracts, are many member states locked into contracts that do not allow for things like clawbacks by states when prices rise? Contracts for difference seem to be envisaged, but what happens if existing contracts do not include such clauses? Will a problem be created in this regard concerning locking in supernormal profits? Equally, will this new approach change the way in which auctions for new renewable capacity are set? Do we need new rules for auctions? We have these every so many months to bring in new capacity. Do we need to be considering something new in this regard?

Regarding the role played by prices, the director said high prices were needed to clear the market without interruption during the last winter, which is acknowledged, but how much of that was undertaken by simply restraining demand and not allowing people to use energy because the price was so high? Alternatively, was a great deal of new capacity brought into the market to substitute for the gas that was lost? The capacity of solar, other renewables and even nuclear energy sources is pretty finite. It is not possible to respond with that capacity in the space of six months to scarcity in the market. I would like to understand how this market clearing worked during the last winter. Was it undertaken solely through restraint or was there a lot of innovation in how the demand for electricity supply was met?