Increased profits in the power generation wing of the ESB cannot be used to offset prices by Electric Ireland, as the two sections must operate independently, the Executive Director of Electric Ireland has said.
Pat Fenlon pointed to"unprecedented rises in wholesale gas prices" which"have risen over 1000% over the past 18 months".
The recent exits of other energy providers has"significant implications" for Electric Ireland, Mr Fenlon added. "We are engaging daily with customers who are in difficulty and helping them," he said, adding that"we do understand" that people have difficulty reconciling this with the company's large profits.
150,000 customers were in debt pre-Covid, this fell to 100,000 during Covid, and in the past two months has risen to 125,000.Mr Fenlon said they deal with pay-as-you-go customers"primarily through St Vincent de Paul and MABS". The rate has risen"very slightly" but is"still very low", with the company disconnecting"less than 400" this year.David Vickers, Pricing and Trading Manager at Electric Ireland, said the increase before last saw an increase in both the standing charge and the unit rate"was a more appropriate management of those costs" than just increasing the unit cost.
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