Energy bills could drop as Cabinet signs off on new powers for regulator
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Energy bills could be cut by up to €127 a year from 2023, with the utility regulator gaining new powers at Tuesday's Cabinet meeting.
Under a package of measures brought to Cabinet by the Minister for Transport, Energy, Climate and Communications Eamon Ryan on Tuesday, the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities (CRU) will be permitted to set the PSO (Public Service Obligation) levy to negative amounts.
The CRU sets the levy every year and requires suppliers to collect it from customers through bills. Levy payments are calculated on the basis of estimated generation and estimated wholesale electricity market prices for the year ahead and are then corrected for actual generation and prices.
The Government previously announced that the PSO levy would go to zero from October 1 of this year, which it says will lead to an annual saving of €52 on household bills. Under Tuesday's move, the PSO will be set negatively, resulting in a rebate for domestic household bills — equating to what the Government says is an "indicative" annual saving of €75 (excluding VAT) for householders and consumers. At the end of July, the CRU will issue a final decision on the exact PSO levy that will apply for the period from October 2022 to September 2023.
The legislative amendments, to enable PSO levy payments to be credited to electricity customers, were approved by Government on Tuesday.
The Government has also asked former Secretary-General to the Government Dermot McCarthy to carry out a review into how Ireland came close to falling short of its energy demands last winter.
Mr Ryan also received approval from the Government to table a counter-motion to the Rural Independent Group Private Members' Motion on energy security and oil and gas exploration, which is due to be debated in the Dáil on Wednesday.
The counter-motion notes that "the Programme for Government sets out a clear pathway towards reducing reliance on fossil fuels across every sector of our society, and it specifically contains a commitment to end the issuing of new licences for the exploration and extraction of gas".
Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien received Government approval for the General Scheme of the Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Bill, the scheme to redress homeowners affected by mica.
The scheme provides for 100% grants subject to an overall maximum grant of €420,000 per dwelling in keeping with the construction cost report prepared by the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland.