Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail)
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9. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the specific measures his Department is taking to use surplus renewable energy that is current being wasted; if he plans to introduce measures to use this surplus energy to support households in fuel poverty; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27604/24]

Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail)
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10. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the specific measures taken since 2020 by the SEAI, CRU, ESB, EirGrid, ESB Networks and by his own Department to use surplus renewable energy to help tackle fuel poverty, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27606/24]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 9 and 10 together.

The issue raised by the Deputy is the "dispatch-down" of renewable energy, which refers to the amount of renewable energy that is available but cannot be used by the electricity system. This can be due to broad power system limitations, known as curtailments, local network limitations, known as constraints, or energy supply exceeding consumer demand. Dispatch-down is unfortunate and EirGrid are addressing the grid limitations that cause it through various measures under its “Shaping Our Electricity Future” roadmap.

Ireland’s Climate Action Plans recognise the need for a range of cross-government/agency measures to enable the transformation of the electricity sector, such that it can become more adaptable and flexible, in response to the ever-increasing volume of distributed renewable energy sources on the grid. This will involve an increase in demand-side response measures and greater interconnection, as well as an ever-greater role for electricity storage systems, to complement our rapidly increasing wind and solar infrastructure.

Ireland’s citizens and communities can also play a role in this transition, by flexibly managing energy assets in response to the level of renewable energy available. Consequently, Ireland’s Energy Security Package commits Government to improving the ways that homes and businesses can manage their energy use by providing an evidence-based programme of communications and supporting ‘active consumers’ through smart metering and smart energy services.

My Department is also working to revise the Energy Poverty Action Plan, in light of recommendations made through a recent consultation which ran from March to April, and feedback received at the Energy Poverty Stakeholder forum held on 24th June. This revised Plan will set out a wide range of clear, timebound actions aimed at tackling energy poverty with appropriate governance and evaluation and will consider the use of smart technologies to benefit energy poor households. It is intended that the Plan will build on and continue the policies and actions that have been driven to date by the existing Plan, and where appropriate, informed by stakeholder input, supplement these measures.