113,000 customers unable to meet energy bills

Some 90,000 ESB customers and 23,000 Bord Gáis customers have entered into payment plans since the beginning of this year after falling into arrears.

The Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Energy and Natural Resources now plans to call in the ESB, Bord Gáis and Airtricity, as well as the energy regulator, to discuss the disconnection rates, price increases and the cost of reconnections.

The ESB has said customers should seek advice before they get into arrears.

Spokesperson Brian Montaigne said: "We would typically enter into a plan that would facilitate the earliest possible clearance of any arrears."