Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I also welcome all the guests to the Seanad for this debate.

I thank Senator Boylan for raising this issue. I wish to report on further measures the Government is taking to enable consumers to become more involved in and aware of their own energy usage. At an EU level, the REPowerEU programme calls for much more citizen engagement with the clean energy transition to empower citizens to take action. Since November 2022, customers have been able to access their smart meter data directly from ESB Networks, following the launch of its new customer portal. That portal provides online independent access for customers to see their own electricity consumption data in order to better understand their electricity demand profile and to be in a position to assess opportunities to reduce their use, move their use to off-peak periods or compare tariff options from other suppliers. That, in turn, can reduce the carbon footprint of their electricity use and, potentially, save them money on their bills.

We have more and more smart meters installed - 1.3 million to date - and competition between suppliers on standard smart tariff, SST, rates is increasing as well as further offerings on smart services and energy insights.The Climate Action Plan 2023 commits Ireland to the development of market incentives to support and encourage active energy citizens to switch demand to times of high wind or solar. Such incentives include the development of dynamic green electricity tariffs at times of high wind and solar output facilitated through new market participants operating in the retail electricity market.

The capacity remuneration mechanism is designed to ensure the demand for electricity is always met. This is achieved through a series of auctions, which are run at varying timeframes in advance of capacity delivery, new investment and existing generation capacity. They compete to ensure that payments closely reflect the value provided by the capacity and deliver the best outcome for consumers.

As the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU, stated during its appearance before the Joint Committee on Environment and Climate Action last week, it continues to monitor the market and it is also reviewing the effectiveness of the enhanced consumer protection measures that have been put in place over the recent winter months.