The Trick to Life…
Posted in Blog by: Lottie…it seems is to have a monopoly.
“Fuck it all anyway. Got the confirmation this morning to pack up my desk for Friday after next. Fuck. I don’t know what to do. i feel sick. fuck. fuck. fuck.
That’s all going through my mind now. How are we going to pay the rent? The bills? The thoughts of moving back home are too much to contemplate right now. Fuck. I want to cry.”
One more friend feels the bite of the big R but despite the country having gone through yet another painful week for the economy and job market it seems that the good folks in the ESB are immune.
Last week a 3.5% pay rise for ESB workers was announced. Now you might ask how it is that they can afford such generosity in these hard times. As I see it, the trick is he who has the power, has THE POWER. If you’re a private household in Ireland, it’s hard to get by on rubbing two twigs together and barbecue cooking so you look to our electricity suppliers to make life a little easier.
Correct me if I am wrong, but as an individual the only choice of private suppliers at present are The ESB. The same ESB who have raised their prices again and again, offer abysmal customer service and make no apologies for screwing us where it hurts.
I live in a modest apartment with a Gold Shield energy rating. I leave the house at 7.30am in the morning and return at approximately the same time in the evening. For over 12 hours a day there is no-one at home (apart from a vicious rottweiler and our high-tech state-of-the-art laser beam security system that is). We use the most minimal of power during these hours and just as little throughout the night and yet our last ESB bill was over €240. So what can we do to reduce our costs?
We have the power usage charts, I have the chastising tone when my lovely other half occasions to leave a light on, I have that extra geansai at the ready and we have more tea-lights than can be deemed safe.
In prosperous times for the ESB, instead of alleviating some strain on their hostages customers they have increased their expenses, a rise which will no doubt be reflected in my post box shortly. When over 100 thousand people lost their jobs in 2008, unemployment is over 6% and predicted to hit 10% by year end. Such a pay rise in the public sector is nothing more than insulting.
So as I wait to hear if a pay cut will effect me, I ask the government to look to rescind a distasteful ill-timed decision and demand a pay freeze within the ESB.
After all, what’s another U-turn?
January 27th, 2009 at 12:33 am
Hear, hear. Our last bill was astronomical and much the same as you guys, we’re not home during the day and there’s very little power being used. All of our heating is gas too so that’s not even part of it. If it wasn’t split between 5, I’d cry.
January 27th, 2009 at 1:57 am
It all makes me sick.
Renewable energy is the way to go. Fit solar panels to your house, they cost a bit, but you’ll never get another bill from the ESB.
Some communities are even starting schemes to pitch in together and build wind powered generators to power every body.
Fuck them.
January 27th, 2009 at 11:14 am
Unfortunately it is not the ESB who set the price of electricity it is the Government appointed Energy Regulator.
A few years back the Government thought it would be a great idea to introduce competition for the electricity supply here in Ireland. To do this they decided to fix the price of electricity and limit the amount of electricity the ESB can produce to 40% of the countries total.
The idea being that it competitors to the ESB could now enter market and charge the same or maybe just a little bit less then the ESB for a fixed time frame to compete and build up their business. Some of these competitors initially found it difficult and asked the Energy Regulator for little price increases here and there.
The end result is that since the deregulation of Irelands electrical supply and the various increases appointed by the Energy Regulator; the price of electricity in Ireland has increased over 90% since the the year 2001.
My last statistic could be a little off but if it is it’s not by much. A quick google threw up an article published in the Irish Examiner in 2005 where by that stage the increase had been 61% in 5 years from the year 2001.
http://archives.tcm.ie/irishexaminer/2005/12/31/story615098579.asp
January 27th, 2009 at 11:15 am
Oops – I also forgot to mention that I don’t work for any electricity supplier or in the civil service. In fact I don’t work at all!
January 27th, 2009 at 4:12 pm
stop using electric heating.
it takes up more electricity turning up the electricity turning a light on than leaving it on for a few hours I believe.
stop using electric ovens/grills/etc
stop boiling the kettle every 5 f*cking seconds
our last bill was €300, but there’s ALWAYS someone in the house and we had to use an awful lot of electric heating due to the chimney collapsing and all.
January 27th, 2009 at 5:06 pm
@Sinead – It has raised a few tears for me I have to say. I end up having to pay it over two months. and they waste no time come the second month in sending me a warning letter informing me of my outstanding bill.
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@Maxi – Fair play to those that can Maxi. I’m thinking of getting a donkey and a wheel if the bills get much higher.
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@Robert – First off – welcome and thanks for such a considered response.
I plead ignorance when it comes to how their pricing works. If it is run by a government appointed Regulator, all the more reason for the government to step in a realise that to restore some confidence from the work force is to show that there is no more favourable treatment for public sector workers. As one paper said at the weekend, we’re in a “war against recession” at the moment – the government don’t need any more fronts to fight.
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I can’t say I understand how the ESB can only supply 40% of the power if they supply such a huge percentage of both homes and businesses. And they also control their competitors pricing by charging for the lines don’t they?
My overall problem is that I feel like I have a gun held to my head when it comes to power supply – And I am suspicious about the breakdown of my own bill having record a months output and checking my meter and generally going al illiatary on my electricity usage. The difference between my calculation of units and theirs was over 450 units.
January 27th, 2009 at 5:09 pm
@B – didn’t mean to forget you there -I am willing to forgo the heating, the washing, the cooking, the lights but do not turn around and tell me to stop boiling the kettle every 5 fucking (It’s okay you can say that here) seconds.
And to sound a little bitter, I am sort of glad to hear that it’s not only me getting extortive bills – other friends I have raised this concern with have shown me their bills ( including my mum who has a large house to heat) and there is over €100 in the difference.
January 27th, 2009 at 5:58 pm
Hahaha, seriously though, the kettle can be an absolute bitch(or b@stard, ours looks feminine) on electricity.
It doesn’t make sense to me is all.
Our house has 5 people, always one in the house at least, and we weren’t too pleased with €300 for those two months.
My apartment has five people and we’ve spent like €70 on electricity since September for some reason.
January 27th, 2009 at 6:05 pm
@Lottie – AFAIK ESB Networks are responsible for the transmission of electricity and maintenance of lines etc. regardless of who generates the actual electricity.
ESB Power Generation – they generate electricity obvioulsy! But they are limited to only generating 40% of the national supply.
The one that affects us all the most is ESB Customer Supply as they are the only providers of electricity in the domestic market so we all have pretty much no choice but be a customer of theirs.
Each of the above along with ESB International are actually separate companies. Despite being separate companies they are all semi-state companies as well which brings all the trappings that other semi-states bring when trying to negotiate wage agreements etc. However it was interesting to note that a spokesperson from the ESB on The Last Word sometime last week claimed that the record profits were as a result of the Energy Regulators pricing and that they would like to reduce costs to the consumer but they were not allowed to.
Regarding price differences in bills for some time our bill has been anywhere between €350 and €400 except for the last one which as luck would have it wasn’t estimated and was €260! A big difference.
Anyway I’m glad to have found this blog and I’m looking forward to checking in again soon!