Electricity - Overview
For full details on the rights of electricity customers, please follow the link to the CER's Customer Affairs Website, energycustomers.ie
All electricity customers are entitled to switch electricity supply. To make this possible the CER has worked with the electricity industry to put in place reliable systems and processes that allow customers to change supplier seamlessly, without disruption and at no direct cost. This process (the Change of Supplier process) is handled directly by electricity suppliers and ESB Networks as the service provider to the retail market.
While the market is fully liberalised, the development of competition is still in its early stages, and many customers still do not have a choice of supplier, because suppliers may not have the additional generation in place or may not be targeting that section of customers yet. As a result of this, many residential electricity customers continue to be supplied by the public electricity supplier - ESB PES. However by mid 2006, almost 50% of the market by volume was supplied by Independent suppliers (non ESB PES).
The CER licences and monitors all suppliers, but we also control the prices charged by ESB PES. Independent suppliers are free to compete with ESB PES and offer different prices and services.