Electricity supply companies may be charged more for their customers to use electricity between the hours of 5pm to 7pm, according to the Economic and Social Research Institute.
The Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) has launched a two-week consultation asking industry and electricity providers how they intend to reduce energy usage.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Muireann Lynch, energy economist with the Economic and Social Research Institute, said supply companies have yet to decide how they will recoup the extra charges from their customers.
“Obviously the first thing they’re going to want to do is for us to reduce our usage. And then for any remaining charge they face, is essentially a question of how they recoup that charge. Do they do it through a fixed portion of people’s bills, or do they adjust the tariffs?”
The remaining measures put forward by the CRU on how energy usage can be reduced are aimed at large energy users, Ms Lynch said.
The CRU is trying to encourage these users to plan their electricity usage in advance in order to try to target hours for when there is more renewable energy available, Ms Lynch said.
She also said energy users who are using significantly more electricity than they did last year, or whose energy usage is growing over time, will also be targeted.
It is thought that they will be offered an incentive for them to delay growth on usage for this winter if possible.
Article Source: Electricity supply companies may be charged more between 5pm-7pm – RTE