Alex White (Dublin South, Labour)
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The 2012 EU Energy Efficiency Directive imposes an obligation on Member States to achieve energy savings each year from 2014 to 2020 of 1.5% of the amount of energy sold annually to final customers. The Directive also requires the involvement of energy distributors and retailers in meeting this obligation

In Ireland's case, achieving this target requires annual energy savings of 1,102 gigawatt hours (GWh). The Government has decided to meet this target by imposing an annual target of 550GWh on the energy industry, with additional Government measures to deliver the remaining savings required by the Directive. By splitting responsibility for the required savings between industry and Government, an appropriate balance has been struck that allows Ireland to meet its obligation at a lower cost to the consumer.

To implement this obligation, Energy Efficiency Notices have issued to energy suppliers under Statutory Instrument No. 131 of 2014. These notices impose legally binding energy saving obligations on all energy suppliers that sell more than 600 gigawatt hours of energy for the years 2014-2016. Suppliers have considerable flexibility in how they seek to achieve the required energy savings. However, 75% of the required savings must be delivered in the commercial sector, a further 20% in the domestic sector, with 5% focused on customers experiencing energy poverty.

The obligation encourages suppliers to offer more innovative energy service products to their customers. Developing the scope for energy consumers to manage their energy use is becoming increasingly important in the transition to a more sustainable energy system.

It is my intention to publish a report on the operation of the obligation scheme later this year. This report will detail the energy savings achieved in 2014 and the costs associated with achieving those savings. It is my strong intention that this EU obligation would be achieved at minimal cost to consumers. It is up to energy suppliers to decide how they reflect any costs on consumers' bills, subject to the regulatory requirements of the Commission for Energy Regulation.