Why pay for power when you don’t have any?

This week’s column in The Kerryman newspaper.

Michael Commane

No doubt ESB chief executive Paddy Hayes is kicking himself for his comments on the Claire Byrne programme that Storm Éowyn would mean we would be paying more for our electricity. Tánaiste Simon Harris said his comments were ‘extraordinarily insensitive’. Hayes has since backtracked on what he said.

But someone is going to have to pay for the damage done and that means, the customer, you and I will foot the bill.

I have problems about electricity outages. I know there are far more outages in Kerry than in large towns and cities and I understand why. But what I don’t understand is that when there is a power outage customers’ PSO (Public Service Obligation) Levy and Standard Charge are not proportionally reduced.

The Friday morning, with Éowyn still raging and over 788,000 customers without power, it was at that moment ESB Networks should have told affected customers that on their next bills they would not be charged the PSO Levy nor the Standard Charge. Not a word from them. Where were their PR people? 

Why not give every customer who experienced an outage €200 credit? And if they have logistical problems with that, why not give all customers across the board a €100 credit. And this time not from the coffers of the State but from the massive stash that ESB has managed to squirrel away.

Electricity is not cheap. We are regularly being advised to shop around to avail of the best deal available. But it often strikes me there is little or no advice explaining our bills to us and how we can save on our electricity usage. 

I’ve also noticed how the PSO Levy was reintroduced last September and not a whisper about it in the media. It works out at €42.25 per year. The Standing Charge is approximately €234.48 annually. And that’s without using one unit of electricity.

With our new smart meters we can keep a close eye on how much we are using and on what. The basic unit(kWh) cost of electricity works out at approximately 30 cent (it varies from one supplier to the next). That price is before you add the PSO Levy and Standard Charge. 

The rating of an average household electric shower is 8kW. Work out the maths yourself and realise how quickly the cents add up. Do you ever think of turning off lights when a room is not in use? Yes, LEDs are cheap but again it all adds up. Do you need to do as many clothes washes or use the tumble dryer so often?  Are you in the habit of filling the kettle for a single cup of tea? 

Do you switch off the power supplying your tv and all the relevant boxes when not in use? It’s a good idea to check how many units of electricity you use every month and make a plan to cut down your usage.

While the State needs to play its part in keeping costs down, we all could easily be less flaithulach with how we use electricity.

Remember the Chinese proverb: ‘The longest journey starts with the first step’.

And, with the saving of every unit of electricity we are also helping save our planet.