At the end of last March Sinn Fein introduced its Electricity Regulation (Amendment) (Prohibition of Winter Disconnections) Bill 2021. It is due to be debated at Second Stage this evening.
At first glance it appears to be a relatively straightforward piece of legislation that seeks to do exactly what it says on the tin-prevent people from having the lights and heat turned off specifically during the fuel allowance season.
The problem is that the Bill itself has no provisions whatsoever that would make the prohibition part of the Bills objectives legally or politically enforceable to the benefit of affected households.
Anyone who reads the very short Bill will see that quite clearly.
The Bill merely speaks about amending the Electricity Regulation Act 1999 to make explicit provision for the Minister (in this case Eamon Ryan) to provide, and I quote, ‘policy direction’ to the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) to introduce a moratorium on disconnections.
Policy direction is light years away from actual legally enforceable prohibition. It is the Minister sending across an email for consideration. Nothing more. Sinn Fein knows this.
I mean, the Bill doesn’t even go so far as to say the Minister ‘shall’ provide policy direction or the Minister ‘shall’ tell the CRU to introduce this or that with respect to disconnection policy. It merely makes provision allowing the Minister to do so. It doesn’t oblige him to give direction.
This is also why the Bill says nothing about removing the status of the CRU as the independent statutory regulator that is accountable for the performance of its functions to the Oireachtas, and not to any Minister.
It also appears entirely unaware that although the CRU was assigned responsibility for the regulation of the Irish electricity and gas markets 23 years ago, it ended its regulation of retail prices in the electricity market in 2011, and in the gas market in 2014.
The consequence of this was that as prices were no longer regulated, they were set instead by suppliers as entirely commercial and operational matters. But it also meant that each supplier has been operating its own business model, including disconnection polices, for at least a decade now.
You can argue the rights or wrongs of that of course, but whatever side you come down on the fact remains that this Sinn Fein Bill does nothing to bring about a state of affairs where ‘prohibition’ of disconnection is achieved.
This of course is entirely beside the point because from a political perspective Sinn Fein wanted you to believe that when government opposed the Bill, they did so because they (the government) were happy to have people disconnected-the heartless bastards, etc etc.
Let me be clear. I have approximately zero time for this government, but I have even less time for bullshit pieces of legislation that create the pretence of being a genuinely beneficial measure that will help people keep the lights or heat on when they experience trouble paying their bills.
If Sinn Fein really wanted to introduce a prohibition on disconnections, effectively what they would have to do is to seek something akin to the nationalisation of all energy suppliers and that is not something Sinn Fein are advocating for, yet.
How else do we know this Bill is a nonsense and a sham. Well, because the power to impose moratoria on disconnections of electricity and gas supplies to domestic customers is already in existence.
In fact, the CRU under the powers it already has, last imposed a moratorium on domestic electricity and gas disconnections for the 42 weeks between March 2020 and end of May 2021. It could not have done so if it did not have such powers.
This is precisely why government are introducing an amendment to stall the SF Bill progressing to the next stage for another 12 months.
They must do this because Sinn Fein have laid the opportunistic trap of forcing the government not to directly oppose the Bill but not to support it either (heartless bastards remember).
It is a useful political strategy from an opposition point of view, but it amounts to little more than political timewasting. Why else would you introduce a Bill that seeks to create outcomes that are already provided for in law.
Anyway, Sinn Fein will have their way this evening when the government stands up to move its amendment and another round of social media clips will be unleashed.
It’s cynical stuff that does nothing to help ordinary people. But it creates the perception you are trying to do this and that’s what matters right?