Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am delighted to be introducing the Electricity Regulation (Amendment) (Standing Charges) Bill 2023 to the House, along with an Teachta O'Rourke. Our Bill is an important one. Given its name is the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, one would think the CRU would already have the power to do what our Bill proposes it would be able to do. Our Bill's intention is to give powers to the CRU to regulate standing charges and in so doing, to help the consumer who is now punch drunk from bills and price hikes in every area of his or her life, never mind the very basics of heating and light. We formulated this Bill with our people in mind, because right now they need a hand with their Bills and not to have the fear of another wallop coming down the road. We are in the unfortunate position in this State where we must rely on a for-profit model for an essential service such as energy.

The standing charge part of one's energy bill refers to a fixed charge that is in no way related to one's energy consumption and the charge is going up all the time. We have discussed this matter with the CRU at the Joint Committee on Environment and Climate Action several times and it tells us it does not have the legislative framework to address energy companies raising standing charges. My colleague already mentioned some of these can be in multiples of hundreds of euro per year. The for-profit company's expectation is to make a profit and while people are doing their very best to conserve energy, these for-profit energy companies are looking to standing charges to increase their profits and our Bill will address that. It is having a detrimental effect on those who are really struggling to make ends meet and those who have forked out thousands of euro already to insulate their homes and reduce their energy bills.

Our legislation will give the CRU the power to regulate standing charges and require energy companies to show how their charges relate to their fixed costs, ensuring that standing charges are not used to increase profits. Our Bill will also make sure that energy companies will have to seek approval from the CRU before a rise and they would have to show it has to do with providing the energy on the grid. This has been an awful year for people who are worried about the cost of everything. This Bill will give people a chance to take a breath and know the people in this House are on their side, when it comes to reining in prices. Our Bill is vital and we should allow the regulator to regulate these considerable costs.

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