Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail)
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The 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. and the after 11 p.m. times were set by the CRU, which means I am speaking to the right people about this issue. Breaking down the figures that Mr. Gannon went through in his presentation, 80,000 consumers are availing of smart tariffs out of a total of 1.2 million smart meters that have been installed. My rough maths indicates that this represents 6%, which seems extremely low. It seems that the smart meters are failing to move people away from those peak times and are also failing to make sure that people get the best value for their money. Surely the CRU should look at changing the peak times and peak tariffs, particularly at bringing the 11 p.m. night-time rate back to 8 p.m. I say this because there is obviously a very low uptake. Clearly what is happening is that consumers are looking at their options and are staying on the flat rate throughout the day because it makes more sense to do so. They are not willing to put on their washing machines and dishwashers at 11 p.m. and I do not blame them. Their children might be asleep or at least in bed and they do not want that disruption. Indeed, some people are already in bed themselves at that point so they are choosing to go on the flat rate because it makes more financial sense and they do not want the disruption of having to turn on appliances after 11 p.m. Surely it is time to reassess this. If the CRU were to bring the night-time tariff back to 8 p.m., it would encourage more of those 1.2 million smart meter users to avail of the night-time rates. It would encourage more people to move away from peak-time usage between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. which, especially during winter, is the most risky time in terms of peak usage and potential blackouts, which we happily avoided for the most part this winter. Surely the CRU could look at those rates and bring the night-time tariff forward to 8 p.m. That would get rid of much of the peak usage and most importantly, give the consumer the option to keep money in their pockets, to save money by making use of the smart tariffs offered by whatever provider they use. Will the CRU look at bringing forward the night-time rate to 8 p.m.?