Homes and businesses face electricity bill increases of up to €16 a year if regulators approve State companies’ plans to spend billions boosting the Republic’s power networks.
National electricity grid operator EirGrid and ESB Networks are seeking the Commission for Regulation of Utilities’ (CRU) approval to spend €19 billion over five years overhauling the systems that transmit electricity from power plants and distribute it to more than two million customers.
The CRU proposes approving total spending of €14.1 billion up to 2030, but will allow scope for increases to €19 billion, depending on the progress each company makes with its plans.
Fergal Mulligan, CRU commissioner, calculates that the average electricity bill will rise by €6 to €16 a year up to 2030 as a result, but cautions that this will depend on what the companies ultimately build and “how suppliers chose to recover network costs”.
READ MORE
The increases will apply to network costs, which most customers pay as a standing charge on their bills, and not to electricity itself, whose cost will vary over the period.
Network charges account for about 30 per cent of the €1,733 a year that the average customer pays for electricity.
Mr Mulligan acknowledged that EirGrid’s and ESB Networks’ plans would increase customers’ bills at a time when many families face financial pressure.
“In terms of the cost to the consumer of this investment, it will be assessed on a year-by-year basis,” he pledged.
The CRU is seeking responses from the public and interested parties starting today. It proposes allowing the companies exceed their allowances only if progress shows them meeting their targets. It will monitor this closely over the five-year period.
EirGrid and ESB Networks plea that the system needs investment to facilitate new power stations and the wind and solar farms needed to ensure the State hits climate targets.
Their plans include the connection of the 300,000 new homes the Government hopes will be built by 2030, along with new businesses and services.
The total allows €890 million for a “storm resilience programme” meant to apply the lessons learned following January’s Storm Éowyn, which left many homes without power for long periods.
Regulators agree with the need for investment but caution that the companies most be accountable for spending and progress.
EirGrid is responsible for the national grid, which transmits electricity from power stations around the country, while ESB Networks owns the lines that distribute electricity to each customer.
The CRU will allocate €11.5 billion to the networks company while EirGrid will get €2.6 billion. The regulator is responding to submissions from both under a process called Price Review 6, which covers the 2026 to 2030 period.
The companies plan more than 360 projects, including 29 major undertakings. They will involve 300km of underground cables and 1,000km overhead, lines connecting offshore wind and tying the Republic to Europe.
