Public will not be forced to turn off lights, says Taoiseach
A public information campaign is to be launched to encourage households and businesses to avoid using appliances at peak times.
The Government will not force householders to reduce their heating or turn off their lights during peak hours this winter, the Taoiseach has said.
Micheál Martin’s comments came after a dramatic move by European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen which would see mandatory energy-reduction targets introduced across the EU in a bid to tackle soaring costs.
Ms von der Leyen said the EU is to propose a “mandatory target for reducing electricity use at peak hours” and will “work closely with member states to achieve this” when energy ministers meet in Brussels tomorrow.
However, Mr Martin said on Wednesday that Irish people will be asked, rather than forced, to reduce their energy consumption during the peak hours of 4pm-7pm.
“Energy efficiency is a no-brainer in this situation,” said Mr Martin, urging the public not to forgo electricity or heat if doing so would put their health at risk.
A public information campaign is to be launched to encourage households and businesses to avoid using appliances at peak times.
Mr Martin said such a move is “a sensible approach and we need to keep a sense of perspective about it”.
“And it’s not about one person looking at what the other person is doing, it’s just about being sensible, insofar as we can, in terms of our energy usage,” he said.
Mr Martin said every family will have their own different circumstances and the “advice generally” to the public will be “to do the best they can, that’s all”.
He said the campaign will not be about telling families when or how they can use electricity, but will focus on the “general theme of energy efficiency”.
Ms von der Leyen said on Wednesday that the EU will look to cap the profits of energy providers who do not use gas, and member states should “rechannel these unexpected profits to support vulnerable people”.
This move is seen as distinct from an across-the-board windfall tax on energy companies.
A spokesperson for Environment Minister Eamon Ryan said while the Government has not seen the detail of the proposal yet, it agrees “with the overall principle of not paying excessively for low-cost energy in order that costs can be kept as low as possible for home and businesses across the country”.
Meanwhile, economist John Fitzgerald has described calls for a cap on energy prices as “bonkers.”
He also warned that the UK economy was “heading for the rocks” because of plans for a cap.
Speaking on Newstalk Breakfast, Professor Fitzgerald dismissed a proposal by Sinn Féin to reduce electricity prices by returning them back to ‘pre-crisis levels’ at a cost of €1.7billion as “not a good idea.”
Professor Fitzgerald said the Government needed to concentrate on assisting those who are going to go cold this winter.
People on a fixed income in rural Ireland using oil for heating would not be as badly impacted as a pensioner in Dublin who relied on gas, he said.
“This is a gas problem,” he concluded.
Paul Deane, a senior research fellow at UCC’s MaREI centre for energy, climate, and marine research, said he finds it difficult to understand how the European Commission’s proposal for mandatory cuts in energy use can be achieved.
“I think we need social solidarity, we need buy-in, we need to encourage, inform, and educate people on how to do it, and I think the Taoiseach understands that too,” he said.
“Turning off the lights will have no meaningful impact. It will just inconvenience people.
"We need to distinguish between essential use and discretionary use of things like tumble dryers, dishwashers, showers, and the immersion.
"We need people to understand that it’s not about using less, it’s about using power at different times to take the pressure off the peak. Those things will have a bigger impact from an energy security perspective.
"We don’t have to go back to the Stone Age and sit in the dark. We just have to be smarter about how and when we use power."
Mr Deane welcomed the price-cap proposals on natural gas, but said he believes Europe should prepare for a full cessation of Russian gas supply. “Russia holds all the energy cards,” he said.
The EU proposal comes as the Government signed off on a suite of energy-efficiency measures across the public sector which will set out a maximum temperature limit of 19C in public buildings, consolidation of staff inside buildings to reduce heating bills, and ensuring all lights are turned off after work.
On Wednesday, Mr Ryan said that households would receive an additional energy credit before Christmas to help with soaring bills, but Mr Martin declined to confirm this would be the case.
