THE ROLE OF the energy regulator has been called into question following a gas price increase of 8.5 per cent for domestic customers.
Fianna Fáil’s spokesperson on Energy Michael Moynihan TD said that the performance of both the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) and the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources had been called into question by the increase.
Last July, Bord Gáis Energy sought permission from the CER for a 7.54 per cent rise in residential gas tariffs from October due to higher commodity costs and network tariffs.
At the time of the application, the CER vowed it would only allow the agency to pass on costs to customers if such costs were “efficiently-incurred”, and commented that – if granted – any gas price rise would be given “with regret” due to the current difficult economic climate.
However, the CER has instead granted a 8.5 per cent price increase – a full 1 per cent greater than that sought by Bord Gáis Energy in its application.
“That Bord Gáis has been granted a price hike of almost 1 per cent over what they asked for raises serious questions about the performance of the energy regulator,” said Moynihan. “Over the past 12 months, Bord Gáis has been able to increase its gas prices by a whopping 30 per cent”.
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