National: Expert warns steep energy bills to remain until 'Ireland goes fully green'

Irish households will be hit with steep power bills until the country ends its reliance on fossil fuels, a green energy expert has warned.

The CEO of renewable power trader ElectroRoute, Ronan Doherty, said gas and electricity tariffs won’t return to previous low levels until Ireland sources its energy entirely from natural resources.

“Hopefully prices come down soon and the consumer gets some relief, but it’s really important we continue with the drive towards the green transition,” Mr Doherty, who is speaking at a major trade conference organised by think tank Asia Matters in his native Donegal next month (October 2-3), said.

“To get there, our electricity systems need to double or triple in size.

“If that happens, the stability in energy prices will come.

“Renewables are by far the cheapest source of energy for countries.

“Fossil fuels are inherently volatile, and mostly sourced from places where the overall geo-political situation can be unstable.”

Mr Doherty’s warning comes as a report by the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities (CRU) revealed a sharp rise this year in the number of gas and electricity customers in arrears. 

CRU figures published this week showed that in June, 256,000 electricity customers – or 11% of the total – were behind with their bills, up 72,000 since January. 

The number of gas customers struggling to pay increased by 24,000 to 168,000 – or 24pc of all residential gas customers – over the same period. 

“The need for green transition [to renewables] has never been greater than it is now,” Mr Doherty continued.

“The Russian war with Ukraine is making everyone think about where we get our energy from. 

“There is also climate change, with headlines almost every day about record temperatures being recorded in every pert of the world.”

Although Mr Doherty admitted renewable energy systems required significant investment, he said that after the initial outlay “the wind and the sun’s rays are free”.

“There will be a lot less of year-to-year fluctuation in energy bills with greater renewable penetration,” he said. 

Ronan Doherty (right), the CEO of Irish renewable energy trader ElectroRoute, with Aiichiro Matsunaga, Group CEO of Mitsubishi's Power Solution Group, at the opening of ElectroRoute's new Dublin HQ in August 2022. Pic credit: Andres Poveda

Dublin-based ElectroRoute was established in 2011 and now has offices London and Tokyo.

And following a buyout by Mitsubishi in July 2022, the company is helping the Japanese giant achieve its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050.

“Trust is key to good business relations in Japan,” said Mr Doherty, 

“What helped us in Japan as a company, is that we like to be really transparent with our partners.”

The ‘Growing Global Business with Asia from the North West Knowledge Hub’ conference begins at the Radisson Hotel, Letterkenny on October 2.

It is being held in partnership with Atlantic Technological University and Údarás na Gaeltachta and supported by Donegal County Council and Letterkenny Chamber.

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