Nearly 50 a day have electricity supply cut off

As many as 49 people a day saw their electricity supply shut off last year because they could not afford to pay their bills — almost double the figure at the start of the recession.

The Commission for Energy Regulation’s annual report for 2011 has found the service was cut-off from 17,794 people — 49 a day — as the economic crisis tightened its grip.

The figure, which represents 0.8% of all households and business customers, is up 7% on the 16,679 cases in 2010 and is almost 100% higher than the 9,709 disconnections in 2009.

The most common cut-off period was between July and September, when 6,141 people were disconnected, while 651 people’s electricity was turned off in the four weeks before Christmas.

In absolute terms, Electric Ireland accounted for the highest number of both home and business disconnections.

However, both Airtricity and Bord Gáis customers represented the highest percentage of cut-offs in the respective groups.

The Commission noted that the continuing surge in cases, which last year involved 14,508 households and 3,286 businesses, partly reflect the growing number of vacant properties scattered across the country.

It said the vacant buildings could account for as much as “30% of disconnections for domestic electricity customers and 63% of business-related customers”.

However, it stressed the economic crisis is central to the increase in numbers.

“It is extremely regrettable that some customers are still facing disconnection for non-payment of account,” it said.

To address the situation, the Commission is planning to increase the frequency of its update reports on the matter from six to three months. It has also stressed suppliers must not charge customers more than 50% of the cost of disconnections or reconnections for either electrical or gas supplies.

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