Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 155: To ask the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources if he is in favour of the introduction of net metering for domestically produced electricity as exists in Northern Ireland and other jurisdictions; and the discussions his Department has had with the CER with regard to its recently produced consultation report on the matter. [38783/06]

Noel Dempsey (Meath, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The Energy Policy Green Paper: Towards a Sustainable Energy Future for Ireland sets out the Government's commitment to realise the potential of small-scale renewable sources. Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI) is undertaking comprehensive analysis in relation to metering and reward systems that adequately and equitably treat both generators and system operators. There is no doubt that we can learn from successful experiences elsewhere and I expect that the necessary comparative analysis will feature in SEI's work.

The CER has issued a consultation paper on arrangements for micro-generation which deals with metering issues, including net metering and smart metering. Smart metering has clear potential applications in encouraging energy efficiency, which is a key energy policy objective.