‘Flawed’ ESB pricing structures penalising Wexford households as large data centres avail of lower tariffs

By Simon Bourke, Wexford People

As another fuel crisis adds pressure to already struggling households, the “disparity” in domestic electricity costs and those charged to large data centres has been highlighted by Wexford councillor Leonard Kelly. Calling on the Commission for Regulation of Utilities and ESB to introduce “fairer tariffs” for individual users, the independent councillor cited the “lower per-unit and network charge structures currently available to large energy users such as data centres”.

Speaking at the March meeting of Wexford County Council (WCC), Cllr Kelly submitted a motion which noted the “ongoing cost-of-living pressures on households and the disparity between domestic electricity costs and those paid by very large users”, and requested a “review of electricity pricing structures to ensure greater fairness for domestic customers”.

The motion was seconded by Cllr Aoife Rose O’Brien who described ESB’s current system as “flawed” and said she was concerned at how “normal households are being affected by this”.