Introduction

The Commission holds a number of statutory responsibilities to regulate, examine and approve how ESB Customer Supply charges its customers.  Prior to regulation, ESB Customer Supply was the only electricity supplier in the Republic of Ireland.  This meant that when competition in the electricity market was introduced, ESB Customer Supply had the advantage of serving all customers.  In order to allow competition to develop and to ensure customer protection in relation to how they are charged, the Commission has regulated ESB Customer Supply tariffs since its establishment.  Since 2001, the Commission has done this by conducting an annual review of tariffs.  

In addition to regulating supply tariffs, the Commission also regulates and approves charges associated with the electricity transmission and distribution networks, as well as underlying costs associated with ESB’s generation.
 

The Commission approves tariffs based on the submissions made by ESB Networks, Eirgrid and ESB Customer Supply. These submissions are examined to ensure that any changes in tariffs which are passed onto the customer are appropriate.

Your tariff includes the cost of generating electricity, transmitting it through the electricity network, distributing and supplying to end customers.

When approving tariffs the Commission aims to ensure cost-reflectivity on a sustainable basis.  In practice, this means balancing what is charged to customers with what is needed to supply customers and make sure that the electricity network is maintained.

Electricity Tariffs 1st October 2009

What Drives the Price of Electricity?
Independent Suppliers' Tariffs 
Regulated Supply Tariffs

What drives the price of electricity?

Electricity prices are driven by two key factors; the cost of fuel for generation and increased investment in network infrastructure.

In the period 2001-2005 alone, €2.7 billion in investment was made in the electricity transmission and distribution network to sustain the growing economy and to increase the safety of the system. 

The recent increases in the cost of electricity have also been impacted by the rising global fuel prices of gas, coal and oil over the past number of years. These costs and additional costs attributed to carbon emission costs and Public Service Obligations are recovered from all customers via electricity charges.

Independent Suppliers' Tariffs

The Commission does not regulate the supply tariffs of Independent Electricity Suppliers.  While the network portion of tariffs is the same for all domestic customers, they can offer different costs for the electricity consumed. 

Regulated Supply Tariffs

The Commission regulates the tariffs offered to customers by ESB Customer Supply.  Prior to any change in the charges to customers, the Commission receives a full submission from ESB Customer Supply setting out its costs to serve customers, its costs for generation of electricity and any other factor which impacts the proposal.  The Commission then examines these costs to determine whether the requested change is appropriate.  This process usually takes a number of months to complete.  Once the review is completed the Commission publishes its decision in relation to any change and ESB Customer Supply then implements it.

See ESB web site for current tariff information.