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

I deliberately focused on one issue the Minister could do something about now, namely, extending the powers of the Commission for Regulations of Utilities in regard to standing charges so that where gouging is happening, the CRU could set an upper threshold that reflects the actual cost of providing the infrastructure. It does not relate to the unit cost of energy. Why is it increasing to the extent that it is? Approximately 217,000 electricity customers are in arrears and some 700 were disconnected in the first six months of this year. There are 148,000 gas customers in arrears already. Some of the most exposed people, those using meters, have standing charges of up to €900. This is absolutely mad. It has nothing to do with the price of energy-----

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