Carlinn Hall district heating costs
Deputy Ó Murchú raised the failed biofuel conversion at Carlinn Hall and the unfair corporate-rate gas charging faced by domestic users. The Minister said the gas price surge was placing such schemes under pressure and he would discuss the matter with the CRU.
I again want to bring up the issue of Carlinn Hall, which is a communal district heating system. It was meant to be biofuel but, unfortunately, has ended up being gas.
Domestic users are supplied by Frontline Energy, which is supplied as a corporate entity from Energia and is, therefore, charged at corporate rates. There is no protection for these domestic users. It is an utterly inefficient system; 100 units of gas to gain 50 units of heat does not work in any way, shape or form.
A wider issue needs to be dealt with. The Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU, stated that it has no responsibility in this regard. These people are paying bills upwards of between €300 to €800 and more, however, having paid much less in previous times. It is an issue of which the Minister is well aware. He was at the launch of this facility in a previous lifetime. We need a solution.
Comment on this
I am aware of this situation and we have had lengthy discussions about it. The Deputy is absolutely right to point it out; it is a critical issue.
The underlying problem is that oil prices have gone up but the price of gas has gone from approximately 50p per therm two years ago - it tends to be priced in sterling - to just under £5 per therm. That is putting a lot of projects under pressure, be it gas-fired haulage or this sort of district heating system. I can see there is a very specific problem. I will ask the Department and through it have with the CRU whatever discussions are possible to help. We want to encourage district heating. We want to make district heating-----
Comment on this
There are a number of these throughout the State.