Electricity companies are to be asked by an Oireachtas committee to explain why energy costs are substantially higher in the Republic than in Northern Ireland.
The queries come as electricity bills for some businesses are set to rise even further.
Fine Gael TD Joe McHugh, the party’s spokesman on North-South Co-operation, says ESB customers pay on average €686 a year for their electricity, compared with €600 for customers of NIE in Northern Ireland.
He says this means consumers in the Republic pay over 14% more a year, a price difference Mr McHugh says is completely unacceptable, especially given that electricity costs in the North are already higher than in any other region in the UK.
On Wednesday, Bord Gáis, the ESB and Airtricity will go before the Oireachtas Communications Committee to explain why there is such a price difference North and South.
