BRITISH customers have seen their energy prices slashed by twice as much as their Irish counterparts, it has been claimed.
Speaking to the Dáil transport committee in Dublin, Labour TD Éamonn Maloney said the main beneficiaries of falling energy prices are the producers, not the consumers.
Deputy Maloney was particularly critical of Electric Ireland during the committee debate; a company who, according to his spokesperson, has “the most loyal consumers”.
Energy prices worldwide have been falling steadily, after reaching peak cost last year.
Since June, oil prices have halved, while gas prices have fallen by 18 per cent. Despite this, household gas and electricity costs in Ireland have fallen by less than 4 per cent.
“The energy companies get their supplies through the UK,” said a spokesperson for Deputy Maloney. “So they tried to make the case that the transport costs as well as the cost of raw material justified the high cost of home energy in Ireland.”
Deputy Maloney criticised Electric Ireland, formerly known as the ESB, saying that loyal customers should not be paying more than new customers, who are entitled to introductory bonuses.
Electric Ireland defended its costing, with Jim Dollard, the company’s director of business, reminding Deputy Maloney of the fact that Ireland’s energy costs are 2 per cent lower than the Eurozone average.
The comments come just days after the Vice President of the British Irish Chamber of Commerce told The Irish Post that a British EU exit would push the cost of Ireland’s energy up – as 98 per cent of the energy in Ireland comes from Britain.
