Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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7. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if a household that does have an electricity account but has a sub-meter from the landlord's account should be entitled to the full grant towards their electricity bill; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32843/22]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The Electricity Costs (Domestic Electricity Accounts) Emergency Measures Act 2022 established a scheme for the making in 2022, of a once-off Electricity Costs Emergency Benefit Payment to each domestic electricity account, having regard to the exceptional rise in energy prices. The credit of €176.22 (excluding VAT) is being applied to all domestic electricity accounts through April, May and June, and includes prepay meters.The payment is being applied to domestic electricity accounts i.e. those which are subject to distribution use of system charges at the rate for urban domestic customers (DG1) or the rate for rural domestic customers (DG2), as set out in section 1 of the Act.

As of 27 May 2022, 2,129,832 domestic electricity customers have been credited, with 1,845,142 of these customers having been notified via a line item on their bill or prepayment vend receipt. This means 99% of all eligible customers have now had the credit applied to their account.

The majority of residential tenants will hold their own domestic electricity accounts, and therefore receive the credit directly. In other cases there may be tenancy agreements in place where tenants pay their actual share of each bill, and, in those cases, will benefit from the payment because the amount of the bill will be reduced by the amount of the credit.  

A small proportion may have other arrangements in place whereby electricity costs are part of the rental cost. In cases where the households  are in rental accommodation, where tenants have disputes relating to tenancies including any terms relating to electricity payments, these can be referred to the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) for dispute resolution.

The Deputy may also wish to note that Frequently Asked Questions on the electricity credit, which include the matter raised here, are available on gov.ie at: www.gov.ie/en/publication/4ae14-electricity-costs-emergency-benefit-scheme/.