Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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56. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he would support the large energy users who wrongly benefitted from the rebalancing subvention repaying that overpayment to households. [6157/23]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy will understand that the allocation of grid costs to energy customers is a matter for the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities (CRU); I do not as Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment have a statutory role in that regard. The CRU is the appropriate regulator, and it is empowered and required to ensure that grid tariffs appropriately reflect the cost of providing grid services alongside national policy objectives such as developing a smart grid system and decarbonisation.

The CRU is accountable to the Oireachtas, and I know has recently updated the Joint Committee on Environment and Climate Action on this matter.

I understand that in in April 2022, the CRU wrote to ESBN and EirGrid notifying them that it would unwind the Large Energy Users rebalancing framework from 1st October 2022. This now results in the reallocation no longer taking place, resulting in a reduction on domestic customer tariffs relative to previous years. This decision has been reflected by the CRU in the allowed network tariffs by the System Operators for 2022/23. I understand from the information provided by the CRU to the Joint Committee on Environment and Climate Action that an historic error in charging for grid services by ESB Networks was also identified, and that the CRU have engaged with the System Operator to address this matter.