ESB (Electricity Supply Board)

Yeah, OK. Energia became the latest of the big players to increase domestic energy prices last week by between 5% and 10%, a bit more on the gas side, I think, than on the electricity side.

And they were following on from the likes of Electric Ireland, which is owned by ESB, Borgosch and others who've increased their prices.

So that's a very real hit to households now.

And I think in terms of Energia, it's going to impact 200,000 customers.

So if you don't know your own usage, you're not going to get the particularly accurate, here's how much you'll save per year, but you will save something.

And then we should also mention that you can, if you have a smart meter, and at this point most people do, you can download your smart meter data.

So you go onto ESB Network's website and you download your own smart meter data.

It comes down as a CSV file and then you can just upload that file straight away.

But one of the things we're proposing is windfall tax because excess profits should be used to address energy arrears.

Last year, the ESB made a profit of 636 million.

Energia made a profit of 140 million, including 82 million at its retail arm.

And Borgos Energy posted profits of 72.5 million.

What

about the energy providers then that are increasing prices? Do you see rationale there?

Well, I think the ESB is like Electric Ireland is part of the ESB group.

That's a semi-state.

And I suppose when you look at this here, we're at the moment trying to encourage people to decarbonize and to put in the likes of their solar panels, to put in, um, the air-to-water systems, to do your windows, put in the wall insulation, put in your attic insulation, and it wouldn't-- that, that just wouldn't fit in with the whole plan at the moment.

Um, I myself have put in, uh, solar panels last November, uh, and I was looking at them and, and, and weighing up why I would do it as opposed to why I wouldn't just stay on the normal electricity generation coming from the ESB.

Uh, and, and, and, and I had a payback, looking at the numbers that I had, of between four and a half and five years.

Um, and everybody else that has invested in them would have done the same and for the same reasons, because we all want to be part of this whole climate change, but we also have to be cognizant of the monies that are coming into your household and what you're spending, and you have to get a benefit back from it.

excess?Yeah, I, I-- look, the grid at the moment is challenged.

That's absolutely correct, okay? But I never heard anybody talking about an issue with power that is generation that's coming from solar panels on the roofs of houses this year.

I didn't hear either the ESB or EirGrid complain or, or, or, or issue any warnings regarding that.

So for, for this year, I would say that there were no issues, and I would say there's capacities, uh, still on the system.