Electricity charges – ESB jumps on oil price bandwagon

Jumping on the bandwagon of the recent increase in the price of oil and coal is the most apt way of describing the grasping price hike proposed by the ESB yesterday.

It is rather perplexing that the company initially intended to seek a “modest” increase, which they now hope will be catapulted into the realm of a double-digit burden on consumers because of the global increase in oil prices.

It can only do so with the approval of the Commission for Energy Regulation, which will be sensible to the fact that the ESB is a profitable company, having reported after-tax profits of €249 million for last year, an increase of more than 56% on 2002.