A sales firm is to create about 100 jobs after it secured a contract to bring in new customers for Electric Ireland.

With Olympic qualification already in the bag, reigning European Cross Country champion Fionnuala Britton now has her eyes focused on setting the pace to ensure she can also take part in the 5,000 and 10,000 metres events at the London games this summer.

The Energy Minister Pat Rabbitte has indicated that he will not intervene on the issue of a new 'low user standing charge' introduced by ESB Electric Ireland.

ESB Electric Ireland said today that the vast majority of accounts facing a new "low user standing charge" relate to vacant buildings or holiday homes.

A €3bn sell-off of state assets has been unveiled by the Government with parts of the ESB and Bord Gais energy divisions topping the privatisation list.

The ESB recorded a sharp decline in profits in the first half of last year.

Websites are a vital source of consumer information, but beware ones with an agenda. Kya deLongchamps reports

OPPORTUNITY knocks for two of UCD’s leading lights as Ireland senior women’s coach Gene Muller has opted to shake things up for his side’s trip to Argentina next month.

THE number of payment plans arranged by ESB for customers struggling with their bills has increased threefold to 240,000.

The Consumers Association of Ireland has said there is no justification for increases to the cost of gas and electricity.

Bord Gáis Energy, ESB Electric Ireland and Flogas are all increasing their domestic gas prices from today.

DERVAL O’ROURKE won’t be bidding to cash in her silver medal for gold at next year’s European championships in Helsinki which come just a matter of weeks ahead of the Olympic Games in London.

Intrinsic share values of state companies have been systematically pillaged by management and employees.

ESB has become the latest energy company to hike prices — despite one in eight of their customers being in arrears on their bills.

Age Action Ireland is calling on the Government to reverse its cuts to the gas/electricity unit allocation for the elderly.

The Consumers Association is calling on the Government to reduce the VAT rate on utility bills to 9%.

Electricity bills are to increase by almost 15% from October.

ON well over 300 days a year, no child is killed on the roads, but that is not considered news. When a child is killed, however, it is news, because it is a tragedy.

KNOW Your Neighbour Weekend was a great success, with more than 200 opportunities organised for neighbours to get to know each other.

ENERGY prices are going up. This has been confirmed by Bord Gáis which recently warned that households and businesses should expect higher energy prices in the coming months because of the rising cost of natural gas.

The ESB contributed €2.2bn to the Irish economy last year, according to its annual report.

Irish people are calling out for more “Know Your Neighbour” type events according to a recent survey commissioned by Macra na Feirme and ESB Electric Ireland.

PUPILS at a Dublin school have saved their lunch catering company on the double and earned a national award for their efforts.

The Government has no immediate plans sell off the energy networks in a bid to raise money for the economy, it was confirmed today.

AGE ACTION believes the ESB Electric Ireland’s insistence on customers actively requesting that they be put on the new lower rates potentially excludes frail older people as well as those people with disabilities.

IRELAND has one of the highest rates of switching between electricity suppliers anywhere in Europe, according to the latest annual survey of the Commission for Energy Regulation.

SMALL-SCALE wind turbines, solar installations and hydro turbines supply more than 2 MW from the ESB’s 364 microgeneration customers around the country.

THE ESB has won a €22 million contract to service Eircom’s strategic energy requirements over the next two years.

ESB Electric Ireland has secured a €22m contract with Eircom Group Ltd which will see it service Eircom’s strategic energy requirements over the next two years.

ESB has confirmed that customers making a genuine effort to manage their bill can now avail of its recently-announced electricity price reductions.

ESB Electric Ireland has announced that it will extend its recently introduced range of discounted electricity tariffs to consumers in financial difficulty who are making efforts to clear their debts.

THE announcement by ESB Electric Ireland earlier this week that it will offer very worthwhile price reductions to customers who are “in good standing” was very welcome.

The Irish Postmasters’ Union (IPU) has today criticised ESB Electric Ireland’s requirement that customers use direct debits and e-statements in order to avail of the discounts that were announced yesterday.

The decision to exclude customers in arrears from new price plans announced today by the ESB has been criticised.

ESB customers could see their bills slashed by up to 17% in a major overhaul of prices being launched by the company today.

ELECTRICITY bills are set to fall — but the good news for householders has been tempered by the fact that Bord Gáis is looking for a price hike.