Government needs to instruct companies to insure no disconnections during this crisis
Speaking after the Dáil Environment and Climate Action Committee heard from Electric Ireland. People Before Profit spokesperson Bríd Smith TD said it was clear from listening to both Electric Ireland and the CRU that existing protections fell well short of any meaningful protections for many vulnerable customers, including many in district heating systems, on pre- paid meters, and who are medically and financially vulnerable but are not registered as such with their supplier.
She said: “It’s clear after recent committee hearings that the state and the CRU need to instruct companies that no one can be disconnected during this crisis, what we have is piecemeal and partial protections for limited times.”
“A more fundamental issue becomes clearer each day, that is that the market is not only broken and dysfunctional, but also largely responsible for the profiteering and price hikes. We can’t keep blaming the war or wholesale gas prices. A lot of this is inbuilt to the bizarre market mechanisms that tries to foster competition but just ensures that in Ireland we went from the cheapest and most efficient energy delivery to the current insane market system as a result of liberalisation.
“That needs to be reversed and I hope those parties that led the privatisation of our energy system will admit that the opening up of the energy market has been an unmitigated disaster for consumers and for dealing with both the energy and climate crisis we face”.
