The cost of repairs to the electricity network in the aftermath of Storm \u00c9owyn should not be passed on to customers under any circumstances, according to Social Democrats TD Jennifer Whitmore.<\/p>\n
Deputy Whitmore, who is the party\u2019s spokesperson on energy, said:<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the thousands of customers still waiting to have their power restored \u2013 almost two weeks after this devastating storm \u2013 the suggestion by the CEO of ESB Networks that the repair costs could result in higher electricity bills for customers next year must have sounded like a sick joke.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile the full cost of restoring the network has yet to be determined, it would be unconscionable if domestic or business customers ended up picking up the tab.<\/p>\n
\u201cESB Networks is a highly profitable company and should be well placed to foot the repair bill, however costly, from their own resources.<\/p>\n
\u201cIreland already has the highest electricity prices in the EU so any attempt to push up bills further must be strenuously resisted.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is not to take from the incredible efforts of the thousands of ESB and international crews, as well as their contract partners, who have been working round the clock in extremely challenging conditions to restore power to homes and businesses around the country.<\/p>\n
\u201cSeparately, I am calling on the Minister for Energy Darragh O\u2019Brien to come into the D\u00e1il and take questions from the Opposition on the Government\u2019s completely inadequate response to Storm \u00c9owyn.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to know why the Government was so badly prepared for this extreme weather event; what supports will continue to be provided to those most impacted; and what plans will be put in place for the inevitable arrival of the next storm.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is completely unacceptable that the D\u00e1il was not recalled last week. At a time when the country was in crisis, the Government was missing in action.\u201d<\/p>\n
February 5, 2025<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The cost of repairs to the electricity network in the aftermath of Storm \u00c9owyn should not be passed on to customers under any circumstances, according to Social Democrats TD Jennifer Whitmore. Deputy Whitmore, who is the party\u2019s spokesperson on energy, said: \u201cFor the thousands of customers still waiting to have their power restored \u2013 almost […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":11228,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[405,539,268,7,659],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11458","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-climate","category-energy","category-jennifer-whitmore","category-press-release","category-storm-damage"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n