Electricity prices - ESB should be more generous

THE announcement by ESB Electric Ireland earlier this week that it will offer very worthwhile price reductions to customers who are “in good standing” was very welcome.

Anything that eases the burden on so many families or individuals struggling to cope with our new realities must be seen in a positive light.

There was a sting in the tail though. The company decreed that the new, cheaper arrangements will not be available to more than 100,000 customers whose accounts have fallen into arrears over the last year. Very many of these people will be in that situation because they have lost their jobs or endured pay cuts that have changed their lives very much for the worse.