Social Democrats spokesperson on Energy and Climate Change, Cllr Cian O’Callaghan has called on the regulator to ensure consumers are much better informed about “green” electricity options.
“This is the time of the year when many people are looking at ways to trim their household utility bills. Many people are keen to opt for greener electricity options provided they are affordable and within budget for them.”
Social Democrats spokesperson on Energy and Climate Change, Cllr Cian O’Callaghan has called on the regulator to ensure consumers are much better informed about “green” electricity options.
Dublin Bay North Cllr O’Callaghan said:
“This is the time of the year when many people are looking at ways to trim their household utility bills. Many people are keen to opt for greener electricity options provided they are affordable and within budget for them.
“At the moment, it is possible to see the greenest option on some of the switching websites. However, this information needs to be made much more prominent on the sites. How “green” a supplier is should be as obvious to potential customers as their prices.
“Also, thousands of Irish customers switch through door-to-door salespersons and it is not clear if there is an obligation on salespeople to inform customers how “green” the company is.”
Cllr O’Callaghan added:
“The Commission for the Regulation of Utilities (CRU) does good work each year determining how “green” energy suppliers are in terms of how they generate their electricity. While many companies use 100% renewable sources in their energy generation, Bord Gáis Energy and Electric Ireland are the worst performing companies, according to the latest statistics.
“The CRU recently announced changes to how price comparison websites should display how “green” each company is. These changes are due to be made in March. However, it is far from clear if how “green” the company is will be given as equal prominence as price under the new rules.”
ENDS
6th January 2019