Earlier this week I contacted ESB Customer Services and twice spoke at length with two Customer Service Representatives. Each of them informed me that ESB Electric Ireland is unable to issue Nov / Dec invoices to some consumers in receipt of Social Welfare payments as they have not been issued with directives by the Department of Social Protection about which form of credits to apply to the invoices.
Pre Budget 2013, Social Welfare recipients got a number of electricity units credited to their bills and these above-the-line credited units resulted in “subsidiary” credits for VAT, Public Service Obligations Levy and Standing Charge credits, substantially reducing the energy burden on Social Welfare recipients. These credits, either 300 or 400 units per two-monthly billing cycle, were replaced in the Budget by single below-the-line credit of 35 euro / month, or 70 euro / two-monthly billing cycle.
According to ESB Electric Ireland, the Department of Social Protection has not yet given instructions on how credits are to be applied to invoices due to be issued in early January 2013 and it appears some will have the old credits applied and some the new, but ESB Electric Ireland have no information as to how the decision-making will be guided. This decision could have substantial impact on some bill-payers.
If I use the old credit of 300 units / two-monthly billing cycle applied to my own bill (meter-reading taken 31/12/2012 and phoned in) my net bill works out at 15.43 euro. However if I apply the new credits of 70 euro / two-monthly billing cycle, my bill then works out at 28.99 euro or 12.52 euro extra. That doesn’t sound like much but for a Social Welfare recipient it’s a lot out of a weekly budget and is also a massive 81.14% potential increase, ignoring the rate increases from late 2012.
Considering the number of homes in receipt of and dependent upon the Household Benefits Package, the saving to the State could be substantial and could result in millions being taken from the pockets of the most needy at a time when Social Welfare benefits of all kinds have been slashed, e.g.
Pre Budget 2013, Social Welfare recipients got a number of electricity units credited to their bills and these above-the-line credited units resulted in “subsidiary” credits for VAT, Public Service Obligations Levy and Standing Charge credits, substantially reducing the energy burden on Social Welfare recipients. These credits, either 300 or 400 units per two-monthly billing cycle, were replaced in the Budget by single below-the-line credit of 35 euro / month, or 70 euro / two-monthly billing cycle.
According to ESB Electric Ireland, the Department of Social Protection has not yet given instructions on how credits are to be applied to invoices due to be issued in early January 2013 and it appears some will have the old credits applied and some the new, but ESB Electric Ireland have no information as to how the decision-making will be guided. This decision could have substantial impact on some bill-payers.
If I use the old credit of 300 units / two-monthly billing cycle applied to my own bill (meter-reading taken 31/12/2012 and phoned in) my net bill works out at 15.43 euro. However if I apply the new credits of 70 euro / two-monthly billing cycle, my bill then works out at 28.99 euro or 12.52 euro extra. That doesn’t sound like much but for a Social Welfare recipient it’s a lot out of a weekly budget and is also a massive 81.14% potential increase, ignoring the rate increases from late 2012.
Considering the number of homes in receipt of and dependent upon the Household Benefits Package, the saving to the State could be substantial and could result in millions being taken from the pockets of the most needy at a time when Social Welfare benefits of all kinds have been slashed, e.g.
- the Fuel Allowance was cut by 120 euro / annum in Budget 2012
- Mortgage Interest Supplement cut in the same Budget
- Phone allowance reduced in Budget 2013 by more than 13 eur / month
- Presrctiption costs / item dispensed to medical-card holders have trebled, etc.
- when will the bills be issued?
- what credits will be applied?
- how will the decisions regarding credits by made?
- will the delayed bills result in the realignment of the billing periods or will the next billing period be shorter as a consequence?
- who decided to introduce this poorly thought-out and even more poorly executed means of raising money for the State by penalising Social Welfare recipients (yet again)?
Last edited: