Paul Deane

UCC

Dr Paul Deane is a research fellow at the MaREI Centre for Marine and Renewable Energy and the Environmental Research Institute (ERI) at UCC

The impact of excise on fuel prices will have to be considered by Government ahead of another winter of high heating and electricity bills

Wholesale electricity prices have been falling since January 2023 so when can we expect to see lower household bills?

For bills to start coming down rather than going up, we need stability in the market and this depends on three conditions

You can expect a simple system of six to eight solar panels to generate about one third of your home's electricity needs

The current blast of cold weather has a strong influence on how much we pay for gas and electricity

While global oil prices have dropped, a worldwide shortage of refinery capacity means prices at the pumps haven't fallen accordingly

Reducing energy use is the most immediate measure we can do to reduce our exposure to high energy bills

As the energy crisis has exposed the State's dependence on imported oil and gas, action must be taken on other options

Reduced oil prices and increased refinery capacity will see drivers pay less for fuel at the pumps

We may not see gas shortages, but we would feel the impact of any interruption in supply via higher energy costs