Mayo appeal to harness €600m. in 'wasted energy' to help alleviate fuel crisis

A Mayo Oireachtas member has called on the government to make sure it can support the vulnerable and the businesses that are most exposed to the ongoing energy and fuel crisis.

Fine Gael Senator Mark Duffy said every step must be taken to ensure costs are kept down - "and that we can keep competitive as a country and reaffirm our efforts towards better energy independence so that when the next crisis hits we are much more resilient and can respond in a much more effective way."

He elaborated: "We must all appreciate and acknowledge that this is an external crisis in terms of the incredible pressures that increases in fuel and energy costs have caused to every household right across the country and across the Continent, because of factors outside of our control.

"People are feeling the pinch and in some cases households are acutely exposed in an unprecedented fashion, whether that be those working in the haulage sector, in agricultural settings or in intensive industrial sectors.

"This is the worst the world has ever seen in terms of an energy crisis centred on the Strait of Hormuz. It means that families in counties right across the country are feeling a pronounced pressure and pinch.

"Additional supports are needed to ease the burden on the families and sectors most affected to make sure that there are supports and ways that ensure those who are most vulnerable in our society - the elderly and those who are in fuel poverty - are given confidence and support to make sure they are warm and looked after in their homes this coming winter.

"Being from County Mayo, I know at first hand the contribution of renewable energies in terms of decarbonising our energy.

"The 20% supply of gas that comes from the Corrib field on the coast of County Mayo is also contributing to our supply. We need to make sure that we shield consumers from all of the aforementioned shocks.

"Something that I have raised before is the 13.2% of wasted energy that comes from dispatch down. That is where turbines are turned off because the grid cannot handle the capacity that is required to realise that energy potential.

"When we think of the opportunity that exists, it is worth over €600 million per annum in terms of wasted energy.

"I have brought forward proposals on residential battery storage for households that can help to capture excess energy, improve the energy independence of households, reduce bills, address wasted energy and decarbonise our energy use.

"That is something that needs to be seriously looked at so that we capture wasted energy and allow households to capture electricity at a nighttime rate when it can be one third of the cost of electricity.

"That would be a strong way to rebalance demand, which is generally higher in the day. Battery storage would allow households to realise and capture energy at night when it is a third of the cost and release it by day.

"That is something that needs more attention. It is more of a longer term play, but it could be a fairly quick win for the State if it is rolled out.

"I would welcome ministerial consideration and thoughts on the short-term challenges. The fuel allowance benefits 470,000 households, which is very significant figure. Increases to that cannot be understated.

"The warmer homes scheme, which is retrofitting houses across the country, is an incredibly good news story in terms of mitigating the exposure we have to the fuel crisis at the moment.

"While there are extreme challenges at the moment, we need to bring it to a head, understand how reliant we are on external factors and try to repatriate that reliance and have more independence in terms of our energy.

"We are doing that strategically, but where the grid cannot catch up we need to have novel and creative ways to make sure we can help those who are most exposed to the volatility.

"Ultimately, peace in the Middle East is the best outcome in terms of realising all of these challenges."