Written answers

Thursday, 12 March 2015

Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources

Legislative Measures

Photo of Michael ColreavyMichael Colreavy (Sligo-North Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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23. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources his plans for legislation to remove surcharges on top-ups for pay-as-you-go meters for electricity and gas, considering those who avail of them are those who are most at risk of fuel poverty. [10501/15]

Photo of Joe McHughJoe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael)
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I am aware of reports of some retailers continuing to apply surcharges to top-up payments for Pay As You Go meters for electricity and gas.

Pay As You Go meters are offered free of charge to energy consumers experiencing financial difficulty. Since their introduction in 2011, more than 120,000 meters have been distributed. These meters have proved to be effective in helping to reduce disconnections. The Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) has recently reported a 38% fall in disconnections for quarter three of 2014 compared to the same period in 2013. I understand the CER views Pay As You Go meters as contributing significantly to this improvement.

In light of the assistance that Pay As You Go metering is providing to households under financial pressure, it is critical that these households do not incur any charges for availing of them. In recent months the Minister has publically called for an end to this practice by retailers. Senior officials from the Department have also met with the payment service providers to communicate to them the critical importance of them making every effort to address this issue. The payment services providers have advised that the level of customer complaints is low and that they are working with energy suppliers to investigate and address persistent problems. The willingness of the payment service providers to engage is acknowledged, and the Minister would wish to see such a response from representatives of the retail sector. In the coming weeks the Department will be meeting with some retailers principals. Should the problem of surcharging continue, the Minister is prepared to consider the legislative options thay may be open to him.

In the meantime, it is recommended that consumers would report any instances of the application of surcharges to Pay As You Go transactions to both their energy supplier and the relevant payment service provider.

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