THE Consumers Association of Ireland has called on the Government to reject the ESB's application for a 12 per cent price increase, to be phased in over several years.
The proposed price increases are unjustified, according to the association. In a statement it said the ESB was trying to make the public pay for the company's restructuring before the energy sector is opened to competition under EU rules, "an abuse of a dominant "position by the ESB, a monopoly supplier," it said. Referring to the Budget proposals, it asked what the point was in giving tax reductions on one hand and sanctioning price increases on the other hand in the most basic commodity - electricity.
The ESB was an extremely profitable company, the association said.
