Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 255: To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the electricity consumption each month from April 2010 to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41762/10]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)
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EirGrid plc, is the Irish transmission system operator and has a statutory responsibility for forecasting and reporting on supply and demand in the Irish electricity system.

EirGrid now publishes monthly electricity statistic reports on its website and this data, which includes details of monthly electricity demand, demand growth, peak demand and installed generation capacity, is readily accessible. The total consumption of electricity in Ireland by month from April 2010 to September 2010 as reported on its website is as follows:

April 2010 2.11

May 2010 2.08

June 2010 1.97

July 2010 2.02

August 2010 2.00

September 2010 2.04

The data above is given in Tera Watt hours, with a Tera Watt hour equal to a million Mega Watt Hours.

EirGrid recently presented its Winter Outlook Report for 2010/11, which examines the capability of the generation portfolio available to EirGrid and SONI to meet peak demands in Ireland and Northern Ireland between November 2010 and March 2011 inclusive. Overall, the analysis for the island from a security of supply perspective is positive with capacity meeting and indeed exceeding demand. This outlook is primarily due to the decline in demand and also due to the commissioning of new plants including Aghada and Whitegate.

EirGrid also publishes an annual Generation Adequacy Report, which sets out estimates of the demand for electricity in the following 7-year period, the likely production capacity that will be in place to meet this demand, and assesses the consequences in terms of the overall supply/demand balance.

In its most recent Generation Adequacy Report for the period 2010 to 2016, EirGrid highlighted that the change in the economic climate since 2008 has been reflected in a reduction in electricity demand. It also noted that this reduction in demand, coupled with the connection of new generation, improved generator availability, and increased interconnection, by 2012 means that there is adequate capacity to meet demand in accordance with system standards over the next seven years.

Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 256: To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the number of residential disconnections from the national grid each month since January 2006 to date in 2010; the amount of these disconnections that result from unpaid arrears; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41763/10]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)
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Under S.I 450 of 2010, the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) has been granted a new statutory function in relation to monitoring and reporting on electricity retail markets, including disconnections. The CER has advised that it has not been able to provide the detailed breakdown of information requested by the Deputy in the timeframe for responding to this Parliamentary Question. I have therefore requested that the CER provide these figures directly to the Deputy, once they are available.

In the interim, the CER has provided the information set out below in relation to the total number of disconnections completed by ESB Networks on site for Non-Payment of Account:

Year No. of Disconnections

2006 5,538

2007 10,921

2008 10,986

2009 9,709

2010 16,492 – to October 2010

The increased rate of disconnections is a concern for the Government, the CER and energy suppliers. The key message for customers is to contact their suppliers to make arrangements before it gets to the point of disconnection. All energy suppliers have a Code of Practice in place setting out the steps to be taken before initiating a disconnection. These Codes of Practice require the suppliers to engage with the customer and /or a third party such as Money Advise and Budgeting Service (MABS) or St. Vincent De Paul on pre-payment plans and /or alternative methods of payment (prepayment meters/budget controllers).

Prior to disconnections the suppliers must give a minimum of seven days notice, to the customer of its intention to request a disconnection to be carried out by the network operators and the associated costs. A supplier may not request the disconnection of a customer who has entered into a payment plan and is honouring that arrangement. There are also protections in the current code for vulnerable customers, for example, to prohibit electricity suppliers disconnecting elderly customers in the winter months.

The CER has recently published a review of the regulated policy on disconnection (for non-payment of account), in the context of improved customer protection. CER also provides a dedicated Energy Customers website and Energy Customer Team which provides consumer information on the electricity and gas market at www.energycustomers.ie/

Some 380,000 domestic customers are recipients of either the free electricity allowance (340,000 households) or the free gas allowance (40,000 households) under the Department for Social Protection - Household Benefits package. The free electricity allowance pays the standing charge and 2,400 free units of electricity per year, minimising or eliminating bills for these consumers. The Minister for Social Protection has recently announced that this scheme will also cover the cost of the PSO Levy. An additional 340,000 customers also receive Fuel Allowance payments (currently €20 per week) to help with home heating costs for 32 weeks from Sept. to end of April. Therefore, over 20% of domestic electricity customers in Ireland are in receipt of some form of direct financial support for their energy costs through the Department for Social Protection, even taking into account the fact that there is some overlap between these schemes (i.e. 142,000 people receive both the Household Benefits package and the fuel allowance payments). Local Community Welfare Officers can also provide exceptional needs payments which can include support for energy bills and also heating supplement if the applicant meets certain criteria.

The Government through the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) has committed to funding to a number of schemes available to consumers and businesses to enable them reduce their electricity bills by increasing their energy efficiency. For example, the Warmer Home Scheme (WHS) was established to address the poor thermal efficiency performance of low-income housing. The scheme provides attic insulation, draught proofing, lagging jackets, and energy efficient light, cavity wall insulation and energy advice at no cost to eligible households. The scheme is targeted at households who are in receipt of the Fuel Allowance Scheme and Disability Allowance.