Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael)

The Bill has been designed to improve and tidy up an increasingly important area. Efficiency and effectiveness lie at the heart of the Bill, which is why it has to be warmly welcomed. Features such as the energy demand reduction target programme and the empowerment of gas safety officers are essential in promoting better and safer use of our finite energy resources. Other welcome aspects include the new provisions against the theft of electricity and gas in the new, open and competitive market and the extension of the powers of the Commission for Energy Regulation to provide for better regulation, with new electrical investigation officers and clarification of the power of gas safety officers.

A major component of the Bill is the putting in place of a new legal framework in primary legislation for the placing of energy efficiency obligations on energy suppliers and distributors. This will result in the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources being empowered to set energy efficiency targets and, crucially, oblige energy companies to provide energy efficiency measures for their customers. The power which will be conferred on the Minister to go to the High Court in cases in which energy companies are failing to comply with their new energy efficiency obligations is even more significant. I welcome the opportunities that will be afforded by section 12 which provides the flexibility to establish voluntary agreements to promote energy efficiency and confers on the Minister the power to approve or revoke such agreements.

Aside from the moral obligations on a developed country such as Ireland to enact legislation to combat climate change through better and more strategic use of our energy resources, there is another reason I welcome the Bill. It concerns the recognition and rewarding of schools and businesses which display great foresight and initiative by installing renewable energy generators such as wind turbines. Since early summer, I have been attempting to examine why it is a school or business cannot be recompensed for the unused electricity generated by its wind turbine which is fed back to the national grid. For example, a school will use all of its wind-turbine generated electricity during the school day but very little after school hours, at weekends and during holidays. It pays for the additional electricity it needs from the grid during the school day but receives nothing in return for the electricity it returns to the national grid.

A consequence of competition and a liberal marketplace is the plethora of new actors in the sector. Instead of just the ESB, we now have ESB Networks, EirGrid, the Commission for Energy Regulation, ESB Electric Ireland, Bord Gáis Éireann, Airtricity and others. The result of this is that attempts to rectify problems and find solutions become overly-complicated, if not almost impossible. The pleas of Lisheenkyle national school near Athenry and the Killary Adventure Centre in Leenane, Connemara, are prime examples. Both have installed wind turbines, created and built by a local Galwegian company, with the aim of reducing electricity costs and promoting sustainability. Neither is seeking financial gain from the additional unused electricity supplied to the national grid but merely a reduction in their electricity costs. When I raised the matter in the House, I was informed that the Minister no longer had a statutory function in this area. Moving to EirGrid, the body responsible for operating Ireland's electricity transmission system, I was informed that the matter was relevant to the electricity supplier, with which an arrangement would be required. To complicate matters further, establishing such an arrangement would require the installation of a special meter, which work would only be carried out by ESB Networks. When I contacted the ESB, I was informed that there were such agreements for micro-generation of electricity but that they were available to eligible domestic customers only. Schools and businesses need not apply. The Commission for Energy Regulation confirmed that these arrangements with domestic customers were voluntary and that the commission had no scope in specifying or directing such matters because the retail market was fully deregulated. While it is clear that everyone agrees the promotion of sustainable and environmentally friendly electricity generation is a great idea, no one is prepared to take responsibility for it. Is it any wonder, with all the pointless running around that has to done, that schools and businesses are despondent and exasperated?

Nevertheless, this new Bill can represent a new opportunity. If, as seems to be the case, it will facilitate and empower the Minister or another authority, as per section 13, to promote energy efficiency and sustainability and hence reward schools and businesses for their efforts, it is to be especially welcomed. I am happy to support it because it provides an opportunity for positive change. However, should it fail to provide for this recognition and reward and ,thereby, reduce costs for the schools and businesses which have installed renewable energy generators such as wind turbines, a further amendment of energy legislation might be required.

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