Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)

I move amendment No. 13:

In page 5, between lines 10 and 11, to insert the following:

"(7) In exercising its powers under section 9 of the Electricity Act, the Commission shall include an obligation on the DSO to facilitate full value net metering for renewable energy supply generators below 5kW.".

One of the most important developments needed in the new energy future is the use of smart electronic and communications equipment to reduce our unnecessary use of energy and the peaks in energy demand and to allow the flow back of energy from small scale generation to help balance out and cover the increasing difficulty between meeting capacity needs and demand and the available capacity.

One of the reasons we have such expensive electricity is the daily peak demand between 5.30 p.m. and 7 p.m. every evening as people turn on their kettles to prepare their tea. Anything we can do to reduce this demand will make a significant saving in the use of emergency generation. This can be achieved by the use of smart electronic communications systems which switch off unnecessary devices at peak times. Just as easily, the same circuitry could be used to allow small scale generation of less than 5 kW to power up and provide generation at peak times where it would be economic given the high costs of peak power generation or to allow people investing in such renewable technologies the option to provide power at any other time. That would be a hugely progressive development in our energy future. The amendment is simple. The Minister, Deputy Noel Dempsey, has avowedly said he supports net metering. The only response we get whenever we suggest particular concepts is that reports have been commissioned and consultation documents initiated and that the Government is in the middle of one on this issue at present. We are beyond consultation and reports and we need to start acting on the basis of the rapidly increasing electricity prices and the supposed desire of the Government to achieve 30% use of renewables by 2020. I urge the Minister of State to accept this amendment as it would allow the commission the authority to oblige the DSO to move towards the net metering system in place in many other countries. I am interested to hear the Government's arguments given that it is supposed to be in favour of such a progression but is against providing for it in the Bill, which is the right and proper location, to ensure that the Legislature and the Executive start to run the energy system rather than our agencies which seem to lack the confidence to make real decisions and instead issue reports and consultation documents.

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