Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 23 January 2024

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action

Large Energy Users Rebalancing Subvention: Discussion

Mr. Jim Gannon:

As the Deputy has reflected, the passage of time has left us without as much corporate knowledge as we might have had. The Minister has the power to direct the CRU. We have seen recently, in response to the capacity challenges, that power being exercised. There is normally dialogue between the regulator and the Minister to release that sort of power. In this instance, the Government did frame a decision in terms of the memo to Government that was discussed already. The Minister's letter stated that the Government had agreed that savings should be passed on in the context of the crisis and in the context of the time. That year, the CRU was implementing a range of measures that benefited both domestic customers and SMEs. This was a measure decided by the Government. It may be simpler if Ms MacEvilly provides clarification.