Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 18 March 2026
106. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the actions taken to date to fulfil the Programme for Government commitment to use surplus renewable energy to assist households in fuel poverty; the specific milestones achieved; and the timeline for full implementation. [19707/26]
View answer107. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment to set out the policy mechanism by which surplus/curtailed renewable generation can be repurposed for social use and whether primary legislation or secondary regulation is required to operationalise it. [19708/26]
View answer108. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment to confirm the Department's estimate of wasted renewable energy in the 13 months to 31 January 2026 (reported as 1,537 GWh) and the approximate retail value (€559m); and the portion that could be practically redirected to households in energy poverty within 12 months under a Government led scheme. [19709/26]
View answer109. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if his Department has undertaken a cost benefit analysis of capturing a portion of the reported €1.369 million per day in value currently being lost; and if so, to publish that analysis and the assumptions used. [19710/26]
View answer110. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the reason the National Energy Affordability Taskforce (NEAT) will not report until at least July 2026; and the reason interim actions have not been taken to utilise wasted renewable energy for energy poverty alleviation ahead of Budget 2027. [19711/26]
View answer111. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment to direct the CRU and EirGrid to develop a Social Use of Surplus Energy (SUSE) pathway that prioritises dispatch down energy for pre programmed immersion controllers or other socially targeted loads, and to outline the necessary market rules (e.g., settlement, metering, curtailment signals). [19712/26]
View answer112. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment his Department's position on curtailment compensation where generators facilitate no cost social redirection of otherwise wasted electricity; and whether State aid clearance is envisaged. [19713/26]
View answer113. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment to approve a national pilot to convert a portion of curtailed energy into hot water heating for households in energy poverty, noting EnergyCloud's estimate of 3 kWh per tank (equating to 512 million tanks potentially heated from the waste volume cited); and to provide targets, geographic spread, and monitoring metrics. [19714/26]
View answer114. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment to allocate a ring fenced fund to cover enabling hardware (smart switches/controllers), installation, communications, and programme administration for households identified as being in energy poverty. [19715/26]
View answer116. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the way in which households on low incomes will be identified, enrolled, and prioritised for any surplus-energy-to-hot-water scheme; and the way data protection and consent will be managed when interfacing with energy suppliers and network operators. [19717/26]
View answer117. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment to model the bill-saving impact per household from receiving automated hot-water boosts during curtailment periods over a full year; and to publish the distributional impact across household types. [19718/26]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 106 to 114, inclusive, and 116 and 117 together.
My Department is acutely aware that with the scale of distributed renewable electricity generation sources coming forward, the grid needs to be more flexible to account for the intermittent nature of renewables. Moreover, for the decarbonisation pathway to be efficient, our energy system must be smart. A smart and flexible energy system will reduce consumer energy bills by reducing the amount of generation and network assets that need to be built to meet peak demand. Consequently, the deployment and integration of energy smart appliances, such as electric vehicle charge points, domestic battery energy storage systems, heat pumps, and hot water heating solutions, is a crucial step for empowering households and businesses to play a central role in Ireland’s energy transition.
EnergyCloud is a privately-organised and funded social enterprise, and my Department is not in a position to assess savings associated with the programme, or the characteristics of beneficiaries of the programme to date. Officials from my Department have met with EnergyCloud on a number of occasions, and will continue to engage with EnergyCloud and other relevant stakeholders to identify areas for cooperation in relation to tackling energy poverty and renewable energy waste
A new Demonstration and Innovation Delivery Programme is under development by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland with the intention of identifying solutions to smart energy challenges, testing applications and assessing impacts. This will be crucial for the successful integration of flexible energy assets in homes, businesses and communities and will ensure that these assets can optimise energy use for consumers, as well as allow consumers to participate in flexible demand management services as these become available.
The National Energy Affordability Taskforce has also been established by my Department to identify, assess and implement measures that will enhance energy affordability for households and businesses, while delivering key renewable commitments and protecting security of supply and economic stability. It will consider the use of smart technologies to benefit energy poor households and other vulnerable citizens.
The First Report of the Taskforce set out measures for consideration in the Budget 2026 process. The focus of the Taskforce has now turned to the preparation of an Energy Affordability Action Plan to be completed in Q3. The Action Plan will include a review of cost drivers within the energy sector and consideration of how the EU Action Plan for Affordable Energy and associated guidance can be implemented in an Irish context.
