I move:
Bill entitled an Act to amend the Electricity Regulation Act 1999 to give the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities (CRU) the legislative remit to monitor wholesale and retail prices in the energy market; to increase the frequency and level of reporting; to monitor and regulate hedging practices; to strengthen its powers to monitor anti-competitive behaviour of gas and electricity suppliers; to give it an expanded role in consumer protection; to strengthen its power to address energy affordability; and to provide for related matters.
Ba mhaith liom an Bille seo a mholadh chomh maith. Tá dhá Bhille agam inniu chun déileáil leis na costais mhaireachtála. We are introducing two Bills that will help to end Ireland's energy rip-off for good. If adopted, the Electricity Regulation (Amendment) Bill 2026 and the Electricity Regulation (Amendment) (Standing Charges) Bill 2026 could facilitate Ireland to finally tackle Ireland's extortionate price of energy, which is the highest in Europe, according to Eurostat. Ordinary households are being fleeced by energy companies. They are stretched to breaking point and are forced to choose between heating their homes and filling fridges. Trust in our energy markets is wearing dangerously thin. Average household Bills have more than doubled over the past few years, as the Minister of State will know, and that is a direct result of Government inaction.
There are record numbers of households in arrears. A staggering 500,000 are behind on their bills and Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Independents seem to think the way our energy market is functioning is acceptable. I do not agree. I do not accept ordinary households should have to pay what data centres pay for their electricity. I do not accept energy companies can use wars and invasions as an excuse to jack up household bills and I absolutely do not accept that heating your home is some sort of luxury.
The rip-off is not inevitable but a political choice made by Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Independents. Energy companies operate in our society not in a vacuum and every bill they issue lands on the kitchen tables of workers, pensioners, students and parents. Yet, while wholesale energy prices have fallen sharply at multiple points in recent years retail prices have remained stubbornly high. The explanation we are given time and time again is hedging. Hedging can be used to stabilise prices but when used without transparency, accountability and oversight, companies can hide their inflated margins and delay price reductions. That is not stability but exploitation. The ESRI agrees and has called for an independent review. When companies hedge at high prices and then refuse to pass on savings, consumers pay twice through inflated bills and through the erosion of trust in the a system that is supposed to serve them. Right now the public is being asked to trust a system that gives no visibility, no guarantees and no recourse. Allowing price-gouging is not a technical issue nor an economic inefficiency but a moral failure and a political choice. The decision is to prioritise profit margins over human dignity and the companies are getting away with it. It is the choice to squeeze households because they cannot choose to stop heating their homes and the companies calculate people will endure an extra bit of hardship because they have no alternative, which is not acceptable.
By adopting this legislation Government can end the regulatory vacuum in our energy markets by closing the loopholes that allow energy companies to fleece ordinary people while they run off into the sunset with their massive profits. This legislation will give the energy regulator the power to tackle price-gouging and sanction anti-competitive behaviour by energy companies, enhance transparency through the introduction of a new duty for energy companies to publish data on their pricing strategies and address the fact energy companies can set their standing charges because currently they are free to do what they like meaning households are literally paying hundreds per year before they switch on a light. Sinn Féin also wants to see data centres pay their fair share through the restructuring of network charges and the PSO levy. Households should not be paying six to eight times more, which is outrageous. The legislation will mandate the energy regulator to take energy affordability seriously and make it a priority. Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Independents have a clear choice as to whose side they are on. Will they protect massive profits or will they stand up for workers and families?