Carbon tax will hike home heating bills

作者:1 发布时间:2010-04-26 文字大小:【大】【中】【小】
 25 April 2010 By Dick O’Brien and Ian Kehoe
Home heating bills are set to rise this week, when the new carbon tax is levied on home heating oil and natural gas for the first time.

The extension of the tax on oil and gas will net the exchequer an estimated €142 million a year, and put further pressure on householders struggling to meet domestic bills in the economic downturn.

From Saturday, the price of kerosene home heating oil will rise by 8.4 per cent, while natural gas prices will rise by 6 per cent. The price of marked gas oil, liquid petroleum gas and fuel oil will also increase.

The carbon tax was announced by finance minister Brian Lenihan in the budget last December and was immediately applied on petrol and diesel. However, the government decided to defer introducing the tax on oil and gas until May 1.

The legislation also includes a tax on coal and peat briquettes. This levy has yet to come into effect, and the government has not set a date for its introduction.

The price of kerosene home heating oil is set to rise by 8.4 per cent, meaning a typical 1,000 litre delivery of kerosene will increase in cost from €620 to €670. 

The price of marked gas oil, which is also used as a home heating fuel, is scheduled to increase by 8.7 per cent, which means that an average 1,000 litre delivery will increase from about €640 to €695.

The typical gas bill will rise from €685 to €720 a year, based on the average household burning 13,800 kilowatt hours of gas every year.

The increased prices come even as the government attempts to reduce the price of energy through increased competition in the market.

Gas prices were reduced three times last year, with Bord Gáis estimating that the average gas bill has fallen by 25 per cent. Electricity prices have also come down for industrial and residential customers.

Eamon Ryan, the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, said that better energy efficiency and renewables sources would reduce Ireland’s dependence on fossil fuels and stimulate the economy.

‘‘We have a simple policy: you tax the ‘bads’, not the ‘goods’," he said. ‘‘So carbon, which carries an economic cost, has to be factored into our thinking. The consumer does not lose out by going green. They get warmer homes and cheaper bills." 

Sourced from www.sbpost.ie