Green energy puts us in the red

BORD Gais (BG) entering the domestic electricity supply market is being heralded by the Government and others as a victory for competition.

In reality, however, it is nothing more than a deception of the market place and of the consumer. One must not forget it was the energy regulator who initially forced the ESB to raise prices so as to encourage competition in the market. Any so-called competition in the market today is just sleight of hand to present the perception of competition.

Real competition would be another energy supplier competing with the ESB on a level playing pitch.

With oil currently under $40 a barrel, the ESB could easily supply electricity at half the current price, but the energy regulator will not allow it.

In fact the regulator will artificially block the ESB from ever undercutting BG over the coming years. Both ESB and BG are Government-owned, so why is this ‘competition’ charade going on?

The answer might be that last year the ESB announced it was going to spend e22 billion on “green” energy projects to halve CO2 emissions by 2020 and become carbon net zero by 2035.

But when then ESB announced this ambitious project, did it mention that the consumer would pay for it? It might also come as a shock to realise that as Dell announced it was leaving Limerick to set up at a cheaper location in Poland, Ireland paid out e15m of taxpayers’ money to Poland to purchase Kyoto-derived carbon credits.

Quite simply, we can’t afford this green-style plenary indulgence which is paid for through higher ESB and gas bills and, ultimately, Irish jobs.

There isn’t the remotest possibility that a 0.004% increase in CO2 by molecular volume since 1975 could affect the temperature of the planet, yet this Government, Labour, Fine Gael and many in the media are prepared to sign away our competitiveness to binding EU limits on CO2 that will keep energy prices artificially high, destroy businesses and inevitably bankrupt the country.

If you believe that man’s 3% contribution to atmospheric CO2 causes global warming, are you prepared to bet the country on it?

Ultan Murphy

Carewswood

Castlemartyr

Co Cork