49. Deputy Cathy Bennett asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the current number of consumers in arrears regarding electricity bills; and the cadence at which such data is reported to Government. [65975/26]

Regulation of retail energy markets is solely a matter for the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) since the enactment of the Electricity Regulation Act 1999 and subsequent legislation. However, officials from my Department correspond with the CRU on an ongoing basis to track developments in retail and wholesale energy markets, including arrears levels, among other indicators.

Arrears data is published by the CRU on a monthly basis. As arrears data operates with a two-month time lag due to the way suppliers report these figures to the CRU and the need to validate the data, the latest published arrears figures are for July 2026.

The latest data from the CRU shows that 14% of electricity customers were in arrears in July 2026 (322,234). 8% or 192,756 electricity customers were in arrears for over 90 days in July 2026.

The Deputy may wish to engage directly with the CRU in relation to the matters raised. The CRU provides a dedicated email address, oireachtas@cru.ie, for Oireachtas members which enables them to raise questions on general energy regulatory matters.