Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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570. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources his views that certain reconnection charges to the ESB service are excessively high and if he will investigate the matter. [28597/16]

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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571. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he will investigate the case of a person (details supplied) who was charged €1,975 in a reconnection fee even though the sole source of income is a social protection payment; and if he will secure a reduction in this fee or have this fee waived. [28598/16]

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 570 and 571 together.

I am acutely aware of the financial challenges faced by families, businesses, charitable and voluntary organisations in dealing with energy costs. However, it is important to note that the electricity and gas markets are commercial, liberalised, and competitive and that they operate within national and European regulatory regimes.

Responsibility for electricity and gas market regulation is a matter for the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) which is an independent statutory body. The CER is focussed on actions to mitigate costs for business and residential consumers, such as rigorous scrutiny of network costs, deeper integration with European energy markets and the delivery of a truly competitive market in the interest of customers. The CER continues to monitor the electricity and gas markets to ensure that competition continues to develop and that customers benefit from competition.

A number of measures have been taken in recent years to assist consumers deal with energy costs. The Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) procured Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) Meters to help those in difficulty with energy bills to better manage their usage and reduce the risk of disconnection. The network companies undertook the rollout of over 100,000 of these meters. The rollout of PAYG meters has contributed to a fall in the number of disconnections and limited the accumulation of dangerous levels of arrears. The Department continues to work with the CER and the energy industry to ensure that there are no impediments to their continued availability to customers who are at risk of energy poverty.

The energy industry, specifically Bord Gáis Energy, Electric Ireland, Energia, Flogas Natural Gas and SSE Airtricity adopted a voluntary code of practice, the 'Energy Engage Code', that saw them commit to never disconnect an engaging customer, to avoid disconnections in the winter period, and to work with their customers on realistic and achievable payment plans for any arrears.

The Code supplements existing obligations on suppliers as set out in the CERs Electricity and Natural Gas Supplier Handbook. The impact of the Code on the level of disconnections is be continuously monitored by the CER.

The Deputy gave details about a reconnection charge. The levying of these charges is an operational matter for ESB Networks, which operates the distribution network on the electricity grid. This is the medium and low voltage electricity network used to deliver electricity to connection points such as houses, offices, shops, business premises, and street lights. Tariffs and charges levied by ESB Networks are also regulated by the CER. In order to ensure that only equitable levels of costs are collected through these tariffs, the CER carries out annual reviews of ESB Networks’ costs incurred in developing, maintaining and operating the distribution system.

Further information on the levying of charges on electricity customers and complaints in relation to connection the electricity network should be addressed to the CER who may be contacted at 01 4000800, 1890 404 404, energycustomers@cer.ie or Commission for Energy Regulation, The Exchange, Belgard Square North, Tallaght, Dublin 24.