Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

For months now, the Minister has been telling people to reduce their energy use. In fact, he previously told people to be clever with their energy use. He said that people should use their smarts to cut down on energy use and save money. People have been doing that. All over the country, people are desperately trying to dramatically reduce the energy they use. They are doing so because they can no longer afford to pay soaring bills. Increasingly, people to whom I speak are telling me they are afraid to turn on the gas or electric. They are afraid of the size of the bill they will receive and how high those bills will go through the winter.

People are being clever and conscientious but can the Minister explain how people can use their smarts to reduce the punitive standing charges that are now being imposed by energy companies? These standing charges bear no relation to the amount of energy a consumer uses. One could live in darkness for the next 12 months and it would make no difference to the charge one would pay. Those charges are rocketing. An article published in the Irish Independentthis week outlined the extent of the increases in standing charges. Some suppliers are now charging up to €700 on gas and electricity combined. Customers with pre-pay meters, who are usually the most vulnerable, are paying up to €900 a year. That is gouging. There is no other word for it.

As the Minister is aware, the standing charge was introduced as a means of reflecting the fixed cost associated with providing households with gas and electricity. It has nothing to do with the unit cost of energy. There is no reason it should be increasing at a rate that is similar to the increase in energy costs. I heard the Minister speaking about this issue on the "News at One" radio programme earlier in the week.He blamed the war in Ukraine and he blamed Putin. All present know Russia is responsible for the global energy crisis but some companies are using it as a pretext to jack up their prices. Representatives of the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU, appeared before the climate committee yesterday and stated they were powerless to impose limits on the level of standing charges. They said it was a matter for this House to legislate. The Consumer Association of Ireland has also called on the Government to act. It wants the Government to empower the regulator to have a role in setting equitable standing charges that actually reflect the fixed infrastructural cost they are supposed to reflect. If the Minister really wants to see people rewarded for cutting their energy use, will he do something about the exorbitant standing charges?

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