Bord Gáis, ESB charges - Reduction of price hikes a wise move

COMMON sense has prevailed with Bord Gáis and the ESB. The decision by the Energy Regulator to cut the proposed rise in electricity prices from 19.7% to 12.6% is good news for consumers.

It follows the decision by Bord Gáis to cut its swinging 34% rise by 10% following criticism from business and consumer groups and a sharp fall in the price of wholesale gas. Instead, it intends to seek permission from the same regulator to increase its charges by only 24%, and in the process save householders an average of €120 per year. It was helped in no small measure by the Irish Examiner to see that common sense, through pointing out how excessive the increase sought was, especially in the light of currently falling oil prices.

Both Bord Gáis and the ESB, with a 19% increase in January, both pleaded their increases were essential because of an increase in global oil prices, although both companies were accused by Dermott Jewell, chief executive of the Consumers’ Association of Ireland, of profit-taking. Domestic electricity charges are the seventh highest in Europe and had Bord Gáis not been encouraged to see the light, the average gas bill here would be about €1,200, or about €300 more expensive than in Britain. Needless to say, the Government is very unhelpful in its VAT take from energy bills, which has soared 212% in the past five years.