Minister defends price rise

MINISTER FOR Energy Eamon Ryan has defended next month’s electricity price hike but he promised to re-examine the levy paid by domestic and business users to subsidise inefficient peat-fuelled generating stations.

Mr Ryan said that even after prices go up by almost 5 per cent next month to pay the Public Service Obligation (PSO) levy, they were still vastly less than 2008 rates. Prices for the domestic customer were now 2 per cent lower than the average for the rest of Europe and 3 per cent lower for small businesses, he said.

Most of the levy went on subsidising peat stations and he said he would look at this. Mr Ryan was speaking at the awarding of €9 million in funding for over 40 companies and State bodies under the national Energy Efficiency Fund.

The projects, which include 20 in the public sector and 23 in the private and voluntary sectors, will generate savings of more than €70 million over their lifetimes, according to the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland. It said this is equivalent to avoiding 50,000 tons of CO2 emissions or taking over 100,000 cars off Irish roads. The projects include upgrades to make public buildings more energy efficient, improvement to lighting and refrigeration in supermarkets and greater fuel efficiencies in transport fleets.