ASSOCIATION NEWS
AN UPDATE FROM OFTEC IRELAND MANAGER, DAVID BLEVINGS... Irish energy policy – what lies ahead P ost Covid-19 many pundits may think that climate change has slipped suitable for a heat pump with an average cost of €60,000* and before any form of grant aid?
down government’s agenda but if anything, consumers’ are welcoming the lack of vapour trails, smog and exhaust emission reductions from reduced traffic flow and many would rate climate action and environmental issues as top priorities going forward. However, if you ask consumers how much they are prepared to pay to go ‘green’ there is a clear disconnect between the want to reduce emissions and the willingness to pay for it. A survey carried out by OFTEC last year showed that 62% of consumers here would be unwilling to pay any more to “decarbonise” home heating, with 30% claiming they would only be willing to pay less than €250 per year to move to a lower emission fuel source. So, as governments want to reduce carbon emissions across the island, they face a huge dilemma. In the Republic can they really afford to pay for every house in Ireland to be deep retrofitted making them
Can ESB afford the millions required to upgrade Ireland’s electrical infrastructure to make it suitable for the proposed mass heat pump installations that government is seeking through its Climate Action Plan? Will the Commission for Regulation of Utilities in Ireland (CRU) and the NI Utility regulator permit these works without increasing costs to end user or will government pick up the tab? While the headlines roll in around the green agenda, there are so many unanswered questions. In the North, work continues on the proposed new NI Energy Strategy. The Department for the Economy recently published the responses to its consultation, and they are wide ranging and far reaching. The policy is expected to be ratified by the Minister in 2021 but will it be as ambitious as the Climate Action 2019 Plan in the Republic? OFTEC’s view is that the Northern
David Blevings, OFTEC Ireland Manager.
Biogas could play a role in the gas network and we believe they will be open to alternative solutions for off grid homes that are less thermally efficient.
12 | PLUMBING & HEATING MAGAZINE
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