Bord Gáis on way to reaching customer target
The semi-state company set a target of amassing one million gas and electricity customers by 2012 and is well on the way, judging by these latest figures. They have 600,000 gas customers.
Its target for the year had been the transfer of 80,000-100,000 electricity customers.
A spokesman for Bord Gáis said a steady rate of transfers has been achieved over the past 12 months.
“The momentum hasn’t slowed over the past 12 months. We have a steady rate of about 2,500 people transferring each week. In the first few weeks after the campaign was launched, we had figures of 10,000 a week and more,” she said.
Bord Gáis has offered electricity rates 10-14% lower than the ESB for the first 12 months after switching. For two years after that, they guarantee that their price will be 5% lower than the ESB’s prices.
“The advertising campaign was very successful and now continuous house-to-house calls are maintaining rates of transfer. We believe that the rate of changeover reflects the changed market and the continued desire for competition,” she said.
Airtricity also operates in the domestic and commercial electricity market. It has 150,000 customers and is aiming to have 500,000 customers by 2013.
Bord Gáis purchases electricity from the single electricity market (SEM) and will generate enough electricity to power 400,000 homes with the construction of its 445 megawatt power plant at Whitegate.
It is also investing in wind farm developments and has joined with Mountside Properties, a shareholder in the Tynagh Energy electricity venture in Galway, to build four specialised electricity generating plants.
