104. Deputy John Clendennen asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the number of people or households on a register (details supplied), broken down by county, in tabular form. [66803/26]

The Commission for the Regulation of Utilities (CRU) sets out the minimum service requirements, including customer protection measures, that energy suppliers must adhere to in the CRU Supplier Handbook. These rules are in place to ensure that customers experience a high standard of protection when interacting with energy suppliers.  A Code of Practice on Vulnerable Customers is also in place.

The definition of Vulnerable Customers is set out in Regulation 2 of Statutory Instrument (S.I.) 463/2011. Under this Regulation, energy suppliers must establish and maintain:

• a Priority Services Register of customers critically dependent on electrically powered equipment, which shall include but is not limited to life protecting devices, assistive technologies to support independent living and medical equipment; and

• a Special Services Register of customers particularly vulnerable to disconnection during Winter months for reasons of advanced age or physical, sensory, intellectual or mental health.

Current best practice, as conducted by suppliers, allows customers to self-register as ‘priority vulnerable’ (those customers dependent on life protective equipment), or ‘special-services vulnerable’ (those customers who require additional protection from being unduly affected during the Winter months). A supplier may require a customer to demonstrate eligibility for inclusion on their register which may necessitate the provision of medical confirmation of vulnerability.

While the total number of registered Vulnerable Customers and numbers of customers on the Priority Services Register and Special Services Register can be provided, it cannot be provided on a county-by-county basis. Officials from my Department correspond with the ESB on an ongoing basis to receive this information. Numbers are provided in the attached table.

Vulnerable Customer Register