The failings of smart meter tariffs - The Business RTÉ 1

Daragh Cassidy spoke with Richard Curran on his show The Business on RTÉ 1 along with Irish Independent Personal Finance Editor, Charlie Weston about rising energy costs and smart meters.

Read the main points from the interview below, or listen back to the interview above.

Key points from the interview 

• In the 2023 Budget, the Government announced a €600 energy credit for consumers. However, with 7 suppliers raising their energy prices the value of this credit is almost completely nullified. 
• Electric Ireland raised its electricity unit rate by 38% which added €450 to its consumers’ annual bill, while SSE Airtricity rose its unit rate by 45%, which will see an extra €600 added to its customers' bills.
• 900,000 smart meters have been rolled out nationwide, however, only 4% of people have opted to sign up for a smart meter tariff as many of them are not good value. 
• If you sign up for a smart meter tariff, you cannot go back to a normal tariff. 
• Some of the small electricity suppliers, such as Flogas, only offer one tariff to all their customers. 
• Often consumers choose the wrong tariff to sign up for and end up losing value for their money.
• Some smart meter tariffs have expensive standing charges of up to €100. These standing charges are at times more expensive than the rates consumers pay on a normal tariff. 
• As a result, smart meters and smart meter tariffs are getting a bad reputation among consumers, which undermines the entire smart meter infrastructure. 
• Charlie Weston and Daragh Cassidy say more regulation is needed from the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) to regulate smart-meter tariffs and safeguard consumers. 

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