The former head of ESB International has criticised plans to raise electricity tariffs on households at peak times, calling them a "cack-handed" way of reducing consumption.
The Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) has proposed a hike in energy charges between 5pm and 7pm in a bid to avoid blackouts this winter, amid fears over supplies.
The move, which would add an average of €26 to the annual household bill, has been condemned by opposition parties and energy experts, with consumers already reeling from a raft of energy price hikes this year.
Don Moore, former head of ESB International and chair of the Irish Academy of Engineering's Energy & Climate Action Committee, stated: "We have the most expensive electricity in Europe, bar Malta, before tax. I think the CRU raising prices, which are already very high, would be a very difficult ask."
Mr Moore said ESB Networks has been installing smart meters around the country but is not using them in a way that would allow for pricing differentials.
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"How that works, you make it cheap to use electricity off-peak as opposed to making it more expensive to use on-peak. This seems a rather cack-handed way of going about it," he said.
The CRU insists there is an urgent need to make the changes after October 1. The increase will be applied to energy providers but there are fears they will pass it on to customers.
The CRU said the grid requires €480m next year to ensure security of supply, and these new tariffs are expected to contribute €100m to that pot.
The regulator also wants to target extra large energy users (XLEUs), especially data centres, which are anticipated to add large amounts of new demand onto the system.
Social Democrats climate spokeswoman Jennifer Whitmore described said CRU warning as "forthright and stark".
"Under no circumstances should ordinary consumers pay any financial penalty for the state's failure to do the bare minimum and keep the lights on," she added.
Sinn Féin climate spokesman Darren O'Rourke said the suggestion that households be charged more for electricity at peak times "needs to be taken off the table".
