Grant: Questions Need Answered on How Costs to Electricity Distribution Network Are Recovered

Nicola Grant Workers Party has commented on Economy Minister Murphy statement at the launch of his consultation on changes to how costs associated with new connections to the electricity distribution network are recovered . Nicola said the Workers Party will make a detailed response to the consultation, but some initial questions spring to mind.

Particularly in relation to who should pay the costs?

Why spread the costs across all customers? Why call that an equitable and equal distribution to meeting those cost? Why would this be considered by him as a socialisation of connection costs regardless of what it is known as in the market?

A real socialisation of costs would and should entail the energy companies dipping into their massive profits, which go to their shareholders and senior executives and the real socialist alternative would be bringing our utilities back into public ownership. That way the state could use all of the surplus profits to lower the cost of energy and help create renewable green energy sources and provide real sustainable well paid employment.

Nicola continued there seems to be an inbuilt assumption by the Minister that everyone in Northern Ireland is on an equal footing when it comes to affordable costs. That is certainly not the case, working class people are struggling to make ends meet, fuel poverty, food poverty and other forms of poverty are already burdening our citizens.

Pensioners and those on benefits and the working poor are not cooking hot meals anymore because of the high energy costs, does the Minister really think they can pay more?  Nicola stated whilst the workers party welcomes all new greener technology and cleaner energy sources and the building of our infrastructure to support more homes. We believe while big energy companies are willing to rake in the profits, that they should also be willing to invest those profits in new renewable energies and technology.

Nicola concluded we look forward to seeing the full details of this proposal and its outcomes for our citizens, but I certainly believe that this will be extremely worrying for the vast majority of people. The workers Party would prefer to have the real consultation regarding the benefits of State ownership of all our public utilities.

ENDS