Ms Ruth Buggie:

Back in 2022, the energy security emergency group was established in response to the war in Ukraine and the prices that we were expecting to pay for energy. As part of that, we identified an initiative to provide solar PV panels to people who were considered medically vulnerable on the priority services register. We have worked with the main suppliers in Ireland to roll that out as part of a service to the customers on that register and we are hoping to do about 3,000 households in the coming year. The response rate has been really positive from that. This is a no-cost reach-out to identified people. When we had the Reduce Your Use Where You Can campaign, we knew there were certain people, like the cancer patient the Deputy referred to, who could not reduce their use and we wanted to see what we could do to help out. The provision of solar PV was identified as a solution there. It is a set package that people get, free of charge, through their supplier. The application is minimal, so there are no worries in that regard and the panels are delivered. That initiative will help to inform us if that is a package that we can roll out to others in the future. As the Deputy has said, it is minimally invasive, particularly for people who have health needs at home. It was easy for us to get access to those households and the response has been really positive.

On EnergyCloud, which is really exciting, we have seen that other countries have rolled it out to include things like heat pumps as well, whereby homes can be heated at night at either a low cost or free of charge, to avoid curtailment of the grid from increased renewables. We have been doing a European research project on the Aran Islands called React which is looking at those demand-side management opportunities on a micro-grid on the Aran Islands. That will help to inform opportunities for the bigger island and the rest of us as well. We also have a smart grid programme within SEAI looking at pilots in that space as well.