Written answers

Monday, 8 September 2025

Department of Environment, Community and Local Government

Departmental Data

Photo of Eoin Ó BroinEoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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179. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the number of domestic electricity customers in arrears and the average value of the arrears; the number of commercial electricity customers in arrears; the number of domestic gas customers in arrears and the average value of the arrears; the number of commercial gas customers in arrears; the number of domestic electricity customers in arrears for more than 90 days; the number of domestic gas customers in arrears for more than 90 days; the number of domestic electricity disconnections; the number of domestic gas disconnections; the number of domestic electricity customer switches; and the number of non-domestic electricity customer switches for the months of June and July 2025, using the information provided to his Department's Retail Energy Policy and Regulation Division in the monthly market update by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, in tabular form. [46727/25]

Photo of Darragh O'BrienDarragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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Regulation of retail energy markets is solely a matter for the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) since the enactment of the Electricity Regulation Act 1999 and subsequent legislation. However, officials from my Department correspond with CRU on an ongoing basis to track developments in retail and wholesale energy markets, including the effect of Government supports on arrears levels, among other indicators.

The CRU releases market monitoring data monthly to my Department inclusive of key items such as estimated annual bills for households and those number of households in payment arrears on their electricity and gas bills. The most recent of these releases includes the most up to date estimated annual bills and the latest available data on the number of customers in arrears. As arrears data operates with a two-month time lag due to the way suppliers report these figures to the CRU, the latest arrears data received in June and July 2025 relates to April and May 2025.

An update on the latest figures requested currently is set out below:

Domestic/Commercial Electricity and Gas Customers (April) Number in Arrears/Switches Average Value of Arrears
Domestic Electricity (Arrears) 300,653 €440.96
Domestic Gas (Arrears) 175,347 €212.83
Commercial/Small Business Electricity 32,881 -
Commercial Small Business Gas 7,295 -
Commercial/Medium Business Electricity 3,692 -
Commercial/Medium Business Gas 265 -
Domestic Electricity Arrears >90 days 167,770 -
Domestic Gas Arrears >90 days 135,677 -
Domestic Electricity Disconnections 181 -
Domestic Gas Disconnections 119 -
Domestic Electricity Customer Switches 37,023 -
Non-Domestic Electricity Customer Switches 2,885 -
Domestic/Commercial Electricity and Gas Customers (May) Number in Arrears/Switches Average Value of Arrears
Domestic Electricity (Arrears) 301,379 €466.46
Domestic Gas (Arrears) 174,891 €206.52
Commercial/Small Business Electricity 27,421 -
Commercial Small Business Gas 5,877 -
Commercial/Medium Business Electricity 3,380 -
Commercial/Medium Business Gas 197 -
Domestic Electricity Arrears >90 days 176,449 -
Domestic Gas Arrears >90 days 138965 -
Domestic Electricity Disconnections 161 -
Domestic Gas Disconnections 155 -
Domestic Electricity Customer Switches 33,552 -
Non-Domestic Electricity Customer Switches 1863 -

The Deputy may wish to engage directly with CRU on the matters raised. CRU provides a dedicated email address, oireachtas@cru.ie, for Oireachtas members which enables them to raise questions on general energy regulatory matters.

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