ESB to introduce a new greener ‘time of use’ tariff scheme
The ESB are expected to introduce a new ‘time of use’ tariff scheme within the next two years. Householders will be encouraged to use power at non-peak times to ease pressure on the national electricity grid.
The utility said “It will be part of a smart metering programme and residential customers can expect to see it in 2018 or 2019.” The idea is to encourage people to use less energy and greener energy and flex demand so as to be easiest on the system.
It is not known whether the move will mean more expensive power at certain times of the day – it may simply mean cheaper energy during the night. Company trials have found that when people knew there were cheaper tariff periods, they saved 4pc to 5pc on their bills.
It was also announced that ESB would finally begin requiring payment for eCar charging points around the country. Earlier this year, the utility postponed seeking €17 per month for usage of the almost 1,000 charging points nationwide. The utility are now communicating with eCar customers about the imminent introduction of charges and are currently looking at appropriate tariffs.
The utility said “Ultimately, everything has to be paid for. We need to reinvest and keep the system up to date. We will have to charge
