The ESB, which pays some of its profits to the State, is "cheating" the consumer to the tune of €100 million a year for the cost of energy generation, a Progressive Democrat TD has said.
Fiona O'Malley
Electricity costs for Irish costs could be cut by at least 10 per cent if the ESB used the dividend it currently pays to the Government to reduce its prices, the party's energy spokeswoman Fiona O'Malley said.
The backbench TD said there was no argument for the State to continue to recoupe €70 million dividend from the ESB, particularly as the consumer faces "higher and higher prices".
Ms O'Malley, the PD deputy for Dún Laoghaire, said electricity prices could be reduced by at least 10 per cent in the near term if the ESB was directed by the Minister for Energy to run its monopoly areas of business on a not-for-profit basis.
"It appears that ESB management are behaving in a nakedly profit-seeking manner in preparation for privatisation when in fact privatisation is not likely in the short term," she said.
"Is it appropriate for the consumer to be hit with enormous increases in prices while the ESB makes hundreds of millions in profit each year?" the TD stated.
The ESB, instead of returning a dividend to the State, could use funds to reduce costs to the consumer."
Ms O'Malley said the recent Deloitte Report made clear that the Irish consumer, who is also the ESB shareholder, "is being cheated to the tune of 100 million per annum in the cost of electricity generation".
She acknowledged that while electricity price increases are attributable to rising fuel costs, but said examination of the ESB's regulatory accounts indicates that other factors are "just as significant".
"These include inefficient operation of generation plant, coupled with extraordinarily high labour costs.
"The average salary at Poolbeg is some 122,000 per annum before overtime. There is also the 320 million increase in ESB's operating and maintenance costs over three years."
The PD deputy said the necessity to develop our own indigenous gas supply through the flow of Corrib gas was "utterly compelling".