Environment Minister Eamon Ryan has confirmed that €40 a year will be added to household bills next year in order to cover the €350million cost of temporary energy generation turbines.
This comes as gas prices drop to the lowest levels since June, with Taoiseach Micheál Martin saying that he hopes a reduction in costs will be seen by consumers but that it may not "immediately translate into lower electricity and gas bills".
In response to a parliamentary question, Mr Ryan said the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) has a responsibility to ensure the "security of our electricity supply" over the coming winters, and to do that, it will need to procure additional temporary generation.
"For the second tranche of c.450MW temporary generation, the level of financial support required via my department to support EirGrid to meet the estimated upfront cost is €350million in 2022," the minister said.
"This capital will be used by EirGrid to place orders on the units to ensure that they are produced and installed for winter 2023/24."
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The Green Party leader continued: "CRU have previously estimated that the total cost to consumers of the second tranche of c.450MW is approximately €40 per average domestic bill over the next billing year.
"However, this cost estimate does not take into account the resale value of the generation units and the end of the generation period in a few years’ time.
"This resale value could offer significant clawback of costs which would lower the cost to consumers in subsequent years."
Independent TD Carol Nolan, who submitted the question to Mr Ryan, said: "We know that the Government’s energy policy has proven itself to be an absolute disaster and that attempts to widen the debate around alternatives such as biomethane or liquid natural gas has been shut down at every turn.
"I and my colleagues in the Rural Independent Group have repeatedly tried to bring sanity and proportionality to our energy debate, but we have been shouted down and dismissed.
"The end result of that is we now have to spend €350million at a time of international financial chaos and for households to endure yet another imposition of €40 in costs just when they can least afford it."
