Consumers to face higher electricity costs amid networks investment
National electricity grid operator
EirGrid
and
ESB Networks
are seeking the
Commission for Regulation of Utilities
' (CRU) approval to spend €19 billion over five years overhauling the systems that transmit electricity from power plants and distribute it to more than two million customers.
The CRU proposes approving total spending of €14.1 billion up to 2030, but will allow scope for increases to €19 billion, depending on the progress each company makes with its plans.
Fergal Mulligan, CRU commissioner, calculates that the average electricity bill will rise by €6 to €16 a year up to 2030 as a result, but cautions that this will depend on what the companies ultimately build and 'how suppliers chose to recover network costs'.
READ MORE
The increases will apply to network costs, which most customers pay as a standing charge on their bills, and not to electricity itself, whose cost will vary over the period.
Network charges account for about 30 per cent of the €1,733 a year that the average customer pays for electricity.
Mr Mulligan acknowledged that EirGrid's and ESB Networks' plans would increase customers' bills at a time when many families face financial pressure.
'In terms of the cost to the consumer of this investment, it will be assessed on a year-by-year basis,' he pledged.
The CRU is seeking responses from the public and interested parties starting today. It proposes allowing the companies exceed their allowances only if progress shows them meeting their targets. It will monitor this closely over the five-year period.
EirGrid and ESB Networks plea that the system needs investment to facilitate new power stations and the wind and solar farms needed to ensure the State hits climate targets.
Their plans include the connection of the 300,000 new homes the Government hopes will be built by 2030, along with new businesses and services.
The total allows €890 million for a 'storm resilience programme' meant to apply the lessons learned following January's
Storm Éowyn
, which left many homes without power for long periods.
Regulators agree with the need for investment but caution that the companies most be accountable for spending and progress.
EirGrid is responsible for the national grid, which transmits electricity from power stations around the country, while ESB Networks owns the lines that distribute electricity to each customer.
The CRU will allocate €11.5 billion to the networks company while EirGrid will get €2.6 billion. The regulator is responding to submissions from both under a process called Price Review 6, which covers the 2026 to 2030 period.
The companies plan more than 360 projects, including 29 major undertakings. They will involve 300km of underground cables and 1,000km overhead, lines connecting offshore wind and tying the Republic to Europe.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
Gaza ceasefire hopes grow as Occupied Territories Bill continues to move through stages
Good morning. Hopes of a ceasefire in Gaza are tentatively growing and the story makes our front page lead this morning, even as health authorities there reported that the death toll had passed 57,000 . Sally Hayden writes from Jerusalem that Hamas was examining new ceasefire offers received from mediators Egypt and Qatar, but repeated that it wants an end to the war and the withdrawal of Israeli troops. Gideon Saar, the Israeli foreign minister, cited 'positive signs' in the talks to end the war in Gaza and free the hostages, the New York Times reported, though prime minister Binyamin Netanyhu repeated that there would be 'no more Hamas . . . We are not going back to that.' READ MORE With US pressure for a ceasefire seemingly increasing, we will likely know more today. Keep an eye on Truth Social. And obv. In few places has Gaza roiled domestic politics as it has in Ireland, with the Government under constant pressure from Opposition and campaigners to take action against Israel. The Government has moved slowly and cautiously on the Occupied Territories Bill – though compared to most other European governments, Dublin has been moving at warp speed. The Foreign Affairs Committee continued its pre-legislative scrutiny of the Government's new Bill last night, with Senator Frances Black among others urging the inclusion of services in the scope of legislation. The committee is expected to conclude this phase next week and then issue a report – it could yet recommend that services are included, posing a significant conundrum for the Government. The possible consequences of the bill continue to worry some in Government. Their worries will be heightened by comments yesterday by an influential US senator . It's 'blatant anti-semitism,' says foreign relations committee chairman Jim Risch. * The row about third level fees rumbles on, with Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald and Social Democrats acting leader Cian O'Callaghan raising the issue again on Leaders' Questions, where Fianna Fáil deputy leader Jack Chambers – also the Minister for Public Expenditure, so not exactly a disinterested observer in all this – was asked out straight four times if he would say whether students would have to pay €3,000 for the next academic year, or €4,000. Four times he declined to say . Earlier, the Minister for Higher Education James Lawless, whose RTE interview on Sunday kicked the whole thing off, sought to defuse the situation – a little anyway – on Kildare FM. He'll be seeking permanent reductions in the student charge during budget negotiations, he said. But could he say for sure that fees would come down? He could not . * Souvenir hunters, maybe? A portrait of Michael D Higgins h as been removed from Belfast City Hall , apparently on the orders of the new (DUP) Mayor of Belfast Tracy Kelly. Previously President Miggledy was up beside King Charles on the wall (which he would love) but Sinn Féin noticed recently that he had been deposed. Nothing is too petty for Belfast city politics. * Mayo for Sam: as talks between the EU and the Trump administration on a trade deal head into their final phase ahead of next week's deadline, meet the European Commission's trade spokesman , Mayoman Olof Gill who spent much of his childhood on Clare Island. 'I am proud that we are holding the line for liberal values,' he says. * Poll position: Paschal Donohoe is well-placed to win another term as head honcho of the Eurogroup , the powerful group of European finance ministers, writes Jack Power. Best reads Economic outlook is 'exceptionally uncertain': inside the Government's trade forum . Finn McRedmond on the necessity for the occasional long lunch . Micheal Martin is in Japan, but Irish pubs (and Irish music) got there first: Denis Staunton reports from a trad session in Tokyo . The population of Ireland has grown by a third in 20 years, according to census reports north and south . Playbook Big Jim O'Callaghan is up for justice questions at the ungodly hour – in parliamentary terms at least – of 8.45 am this morning, followed by agriculture PQs and then the final Leaders' Questions of the week at 12 noon. Government business in the afternoon includes EU rules regarding migrations – safe countries of origin, safe third countries, and a 'recommendation on a coordinated approach to the transition out of temporary protection for displaced persons from Ukraine.' There's something similar in the Seanad. It's a quieter day at the committees today. The Defence Committee will hear from a number of witnesses – including three MEPs – about the proposed abolition of the triple lock. Safe to say the witnesses from the Irish Neutrality League, the Peace and Neutrality Alliance and the Irish Anti-War Movement will not be agitating for jumping into bed with Nato. Elsewhere the Public Accounts Committee will interrogate officials from Children's Health Ireland and the National Treatment Purchase Fund. There could be skin and hair flyin' at that one alright. The Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Harris is heading for the annual Ireland-Wales Forum in Swansea, where he will meet with the First Minister of Wales, Eluned Morgan. This year's Forum will see the launch of a new Ireland-Wales Shared Statement 2030. Exciting, no?
Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
AG would be obliged to share advice on proposed legislation with public under new Bill
The Attorney General would be required to publicly disclose their legal advice to government on proposed legislation under a Private Members' Bill that will be introduced in the Dáil on Thursday. A Labour Party Bill would require the Attorney General, who is the government's legal adviser, to waive client confidentiality in respect of Bills, such as the occupied territory legislation which is currently undergoing pre-legislative scrutiny. That confidentiality, known as legal professional privilege, would still apply for advice given in the course of litigation, or for other circumstances. The Bill, tabled by party leader Ivana Bacik and finance spokesman Ged Nash, proposes other reforms for the Attorney General's office, including a new duty to the public when the State is involved in litigation with citizens. READ MORE The party said the motivation for the Bill was the controversy that arose in relation to nursing home charges and concerns that the primary consideration of the State when defending claims was to reduce costs, and in so doing, not taking sufficient account of citizens' rights. 'In recent years, there has been concern that the public interest role of the Attorney General may on occasion run counter to his or her obligations when acting as legal adviser to the Government in litigation,' it has stated. 'A Minister may have an interest in settling litigation on confidential terms so as to reduce its financial exposure to other potential litigants. 'This may be a legitimate tactic for a lawyer in private practice to advise on but it fails to acknowledge the specific public interest considerations that arise in public law litigation.' The party has said that a principal purpose of this Bill is to provide a mechanism for both acknowledging and accommodating public interest concerns in State litigation.
Irish Times
2 hours ago
- Irish Times
Cost of motor insurance surges and more cuts at Microsoft
The cost of motor insurance claims jumped by almost one quarter in the 12 months to the middle of last year, new figures published by the Central Bank suggest. Conor Pope reports. Staying with costs, homes and businesses face electricity bill increases of up to €16 a-year if regulators approve State companies' plans to spend billions boosting the Republic's power networks. Barry O'Halloran has the details. Microsoft began its third round of job cuts this year across its global operations on Wednesday as it looks to shed an additional 9,000 workers, including some in Ireland, in a bid to control costs. Ian Curran reports. The flow of multinational investment into Ireland accelerated in the first six months of 2025 despite the uncertainty around US tariffs. IDA Ireland's latest half-year report said the agency supported 179 investments in the six months to June with the potential to create more than 10,000 jobs. Eoin Burke-Kennedy reports. READ MORE In Net Results, Emmet Ryan highlights why the EU's plan to access phone messages is hairbrained, even if the intention is a good one. Cantillon looks at how AI is already impacting jobs at big tech firms while also beaking down the Central Bank's report on insurance costs. Irish fintech Fenergo is set to create 300 jobs in Dublin as part of a €100 million global expansion which will see 500 jobs created globally. 'This recruitment initiative is really to solidify our position as the number one in the global market in the financial technology and financial crime space,' Fenergo founder and chief executive Marc Murphy told The Irish Times' Hugh Dooley. In Inside Business , host Ciaran Hancock looks at the phenomenon of the D4 farmer. Not some wealthy entrepreneur herding cattle in Ballsbridge but wealthy individuals buying up farmland around the country as a wheeze to reduce the inheritance tax bills for their children. How does the tax break work? What impact will it have on land prices? And is anything being done to change it? He speaks to Fiona Reddan of the Irish Times and Marty Murphy, head of tax at IFAC Ireland. US president Donald Trump wants Apple to move production out of China and back to the US, but the tech firm is expanding operations in India. Here's how it is doing it. In Innovators to Watch, Olive Keogh meets an Irish tech firm that promises to slash cybersecurity audit times with AI. Ireland's services sector suffered 'a significant loss of momentum ' at the halfway mark of 2025, according to new data from AIB. Activity, new business, and employment all rose 'only modestly', the bank said in its monthly pulse-check of the sector. Colin Gleeson has the story. Amazon Web Services (AWS) plans to construct three new data centres in north Dublin that 'will have no significant impact on climate'. Gordon Deegan has read the plans. If you'd like to read more about the issues that affect your finances try signing up to On the Money , the weekly newsletter from our personal finance team, which will be issued every Friday to Irish Times subscribers.
