Energy watchdog working on waiver for pay-as-you-go customers to switch to bill pay

The fee for switching to a bill plan can be as high as €160 in some cases and Micheál Martin told Leaders' Questions that the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities (CRU) is examining a method to ensure companies waive the fee. File photo

Ireland's utilities watchdog is working on plans to waive the fee for pay-as-you-go energy customers to switch to bill pay, the Taoiseach has told the Dáil.

Customers on self-pay meters are not included in the extended disconnections moratorium, which will run until March, with the Government facing calls to ensure that they don't "self-disconnect" when their €20 overdraft is reached. 

The fee for switching to a bill plan can be as high as €160 in some cases and Micheál Martin told Leaders' Questions that the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities (CRU) is examining a method to ensure companies waive the fee.

Mr Martin was responding to Solidarity TD Mick Barry, who said that the Government and Environment Minister Eamon Ryan should "go harder" at energy companies.

"The minister might learn a thing or two if he bothered to speak to customers. He might hear about the households that never stock the freezer up full for fear of the electricity going off. 

He might hear about the housing estates where security alarms go off every Friday in homes that cannot afford to top up their electricity before payday. 

"He might hear about the contempt people have for the phrase "self-disconnect", which trips so easily from the lips of energy bosses and some Government deputies these days.

"I am sure the Taoiseach has realised this, but I will spell it out for him just in case he has not; the news is not good for him or his government if the moratorium does not mean a moratorium for all and unless there are zero disconnections this winter. If that does not happen, the personal stories of people who have been disconnected will be read aloud every day in this Chamber and his promise that there will be no disconnections will come back to haunt him."

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The Taoiseach said that the Government "does not want to see disconnections" and pointed to the measures announced in the Budget such as energy credits and confirmed, as reported by the Irish Examiner last week, that the switchover fee could be waived.

"For vulnerable customers, the pause on disconnections for non-payment has been extended to six months, from 1 October 2022 until 31 March 2023. I understand that work is now being progressed by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU, to waive the fee to enable people to switch from pay-as-you-go to bill pay in order to avail of the protections for vulnerable customers."

Evictions ban

Earlier, Mr Martin had said that a winter evictions ban was still being considered, but said it was not an answer for the housing crisis. Mr Martin was responding to Sinn Féin's Matt Carthy, who said that Ireland was heading for the "shameful milestone of an official homelessness figure of 11,000 people”.

Mr Martin said that any ban would not alone solve the issues in housing.

“There are other policy issues that have to be assessed in that context as well to make sure that we’ve had a significant supply into the rental market, which is a concern. Which is a problem in terms of getting more houses back into the rental market, and to rent out to people because there’s been a decline in the number of houses for rent since 2017,” he said.