Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)

In 2020, the average electricity bill was €976. It is currently €1,877. There is no way that is justifiable, even considering the special circumstances that Ireland faces and considering what happened in Ukraine. People are paying twice what they were paying five years ago and, as I said, the price that the companies are paying for wholesale energy is going down. It is now 75% lower than in 2022. Those savings should be passed on to customers and those companies are not doing it. It has been recommended by the Government's own affordability agency that the energy regulator conduct an investigation into price gouging by those energy companies. Will the Minister direct the energy regulator to put in place that investigation into price gouging by those large retailers and the energy companies?

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