Martin Brady (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister of State and wish her well in her new portfolio. I have no doubt she is a very able person and will do the right thing.

The key objectives of this Bill are to amend the Electricity Regulation Act to place a requirement on electricity generators to pay a levy on the revenues from the SEN which are attributable to emissions and that it becomes a function of the Commission for Energy Regulation to calculate, collect and manage the carbon revenue levy.

I agree with Senator Quinn. We are talking about wind energy, but I have met people who have bought wind energy chargers and cost is a huge factor. In some cases people do not anticipate these high costs and the machines are high maintenance. I live Clongriffin and the chargers have been out of action there for some time. The contractor who installed them has gone into liquidation and there is a row between Dublin City Council and other contractors that we are trying to end.

People cannot understand their electricity bills. The customer pays for the electricity he or she uses, but there are standing charges that people cannot understand. There should not be any such charges. I made inquiries of the ESB and was told that the charges were different in rural areas because it was more expensive to provide electricity in such areas than in urban areas. That is irrelevant. If I provide a telephone service, I am paid for it and that is all. Something should be done about standing charges. People see it as another way to collect money. If a man works, he receives a salary and that is all. We should look at this issue because cost is a major factor, about which we should be concerned. If we want people to use alternative energy resources, we should make it easy for them to do so. There is not sufficient information on the costs involved for those who buy wind energy generators.

I agree with the general thrust of the Bill which is not contentious, but minor issues such as those I have mentioned should be given more attention.