2,500 Gas Customers Disconnected Every Month

Business & Finance - Consumer

Thursday, 30 September 2010 10:28

Written by Noel Cotter

The Oireachtas Communications Committee has requested that ESB, Bord Gais, Airtricity and the Energy Regulator devise more consumer focused policies regarding disconnection of electricity supplies to domestic and commercial users.

This move was prompted by the revelation at today’s Communications Committee that Bord Gáis has in the region of 26,000 customers currently in arrears and 20,000 who are at risk of disconnection. The Regulator told Committee members that disconnections are running at up to 2,500 per month.

Committee members expressed dissatisfaction at the high cost of disconnections for electricity users. Each visit to disconnect costs €86 and reconnection cost €88 (both prices exclude VAT). In response to this, the Committee has asked the utility companies to come up with more consumer friendly disconnection practices.

Committee Chairman, MJ Nolan TD; “There has been a significant upsurge in the number of disconnections this year. We heard at today’s meeting of the alarming upward trend in disconnection rates. We also learnt of the high costs for customers associated with reconnections.

"The Committee feels this is an unjustified cost for already hard pressed customers. Therefore, we have asked the energy companies and the regulator to get together and come back to us with updated, more customer orientated regulations for disconnections.

"Disconnection must be the last resort and when customers do get cut off, the reconnection process must be as seamless and cheap as possible. At present, it seems that current protocols in this area are not focused enough on the consumer and need to be improved", he added.