Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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199. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the reason that a group of 95 apartment owners can avail of domestic rate electricity usage in respect of their apartments but have to pay commercial rate usage on the lighting of common areas, halls, stairways landings, corridors and so on in their apartment block; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [61560/22]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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Regulation 6 of Statutory Instrument No. 20 of 2022 provides that electricity customers are free to choose the electricity supplier of their choice, with responsibility for regulatory oversight in this respect a matter for the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities (CRU). Gas and electricity retail markets in Ireland operate within a European regulatory regime wherein electricity and gas markets are commercial, liberalised, and competitive. Operating within the overall EU framework, responsibility for the regulation of the electricity and gas markets is a matter for the independent regulator, CRU, which was assigned responsibility for the regulation of the Irish electricity and gas markets following the enactment of the Electricity Regulation Act (ERA), 1999.

The ESB Networks Rules for Application of Distribution Use of System Tariff Group sets out the definition for domestic and business customers. The communal area of an apartment block does not meet the description of a domestic customer premises. These communal areas are managed and run by the management company of the apartment block and thus fall under the DG5 definition.

In the event that a dispute should arise,  between a tenant and landlord, in relation to the terms of a lease or otherwise, there are existing dispute resolution mechanisms provided by the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB).