Publication
Electricity Demand Reduction Measures
From Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications
Published on
Last updated on
Council Regulation (EU) 2022/1854 on an emergency intervention to address high energy prices sets out two obligations on Member States to achieve reductions in electricity demand consumption.
The two obligations are as follows:
1. To endeavour to reduce overall electricity consumption in the period November 2022 to March 2023 by 10% (compared to the average of the previous five years over the same period) and
2. To reduce peak electricity consumption in the period December 2022 to March 2023 by 5% (compared to projected consumption).
In contrast to the former obligation, this is a mandatory reduction target.
In October 2022, a Working Group comprised of relevant energy agencies and government departments was established to oversee the development and implementation of appropriate measures. Measures identified and implemented for these targets included a conservation voltage reduction scheme, the ESB Networks 'Beat the Peak' pilot schemes, a public sector energy efficiency scheme, the introduction of peak tariffs by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities and a nationwide 'Reduce Your Use' information campaign.
Further details of the measures are available below.
Under the Regulation, Ireland is obliged to report to the European Commission on its performance towards achieving the demand reduction targets. The Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications has now reported three times to the Commission on the measures implemented in pursuit of these targets and on data observed on electricity demand.
For the first target regarding overall electricity consumption, the monthly breakdown is as follows:
- November 2022: 5% increase compared to historical average for that month
- December 2022: 10% increase compared to historical average for that month
- January 2023: 8% increase compared to historical average for that month
- February 2023: 4% increase compared to historical average for that month and
- March 2023: 3% increase compared to historical average for that month
This indicates that overall electricity consumption increased by around 6% for the target period compared to the historical reference period. It is worth considering, however, that the reference period for Ireland for this target is one of comparatively lower demand as Ireland’s energy demand profile has increased in recent years. This makes achieving reductions in an Irish context particularly challenging in contrast to other Member States who have constant or declining consumption profiles.
For the second target, the results for the peak time consumption (defined in Ireland’s submission as 4pm to 9pm Monday to Sunday) are as follows:
- December 2022: 5.2% decrease compared to the forecast period for that month
- January 2023: 9.8% decrease compared to the forecast period for that month
- February 2023: 11.1% decrease compared to the forecast period for that month and
- March 2023: 3.8% decrease compared to the forecast period for that month
This amounts to an overall decrease of around 7% during peak times for this period.
It should be noted that the key difference between the overall target (which Ireland has not achieved) and the mandatory peak target (which Ireland has achieved) is that the former is compared to a historic baseline whereas the latter is against projections.