VGB POWERTECH Issue 1/2 (2020)

VGB PowerTech 1/2 l 2020
Members´News
helping business and residential energy
users become more efficient in their energy
consumption. Some of the survey results*
include:
• 73 % of those surveyed say they ‘would
be willing to change their energy usage
behaviours a little to reduce their own
carbon footprint’.
• 81 % said that they ‘believe energy
providers should help people lower
their carbon footprint by offering new
products and services to help customers
use their energy in a more sustainable
way’.
In considering the role that energy companies
might play in helping people transition
to a greener, lower carbon future,
58 % of those surveyed think energy companies
should ‘advise on how to reduce the
carbon footprint and increase energy efficiency
of the home’.
In response to this research, the Electric
Ireland Brighter Energy Programme will offer
customers practical advice, tips and
‚how-to’ videos which will be released
throughout the year and available online at
the new ‘We’re Brighter Together Hub’ on
ElectricIreland.ie/brightertogether. The
Electric Ireland Brighter Energy Research
Tracker will also monitor, track, and publish
bi-annually, on Ireland’s energy literacy.
Through education, Electric Ireland aims to
enable its customers to make the changes
needed to have the biggest collective impact
on society. And with the largest customer
base in Ireland, over 1.1million, Electric Ireland
is in a unique position to help customers
have the biggest collective impact.
As part of the Electric Ireland Brighter Energy
Programme, Electric Ireland is launching
its all-new 100 % Green Electricity
Price Plan – available to new and existing
residential Electric Ireland customers later
this month. This affordable plan underpins
existing products and services, enabling
Electric Ireland customers to make a positive
change while retaining great value.
Small and medium business customers will
also be given the option to move to a Green
Price Plan later this month as well.
Speaking at the launch of ‘We’re Brighter
Together’, Marguerite Sayers, Executive Director,
Electric Ireland said: “We’re acutely
aware of what is happening in the world in
which we live, and we’ve also listened to
our customers. We’re committed to providing
them, not only the best value offerings
on an ongoing basis, but also an opportunity
to contribute to combating climate
change. We understand and acknowledge
that many customers want to make a difference
with their energy decisions.”
She continued: “Our Brighter Energy Programme,
along with our 100 % Green Electricity
Price Plan, is another facet of our
company-wide ambition to help Ireland
transition to a low carbon future. We believe
that change is easy when you know
how. We want to facilitate and accelerate
that change by sharing information and
practical help, empowering our customers
to make more informed decisions on their
energy usage. The ‘We’re Brighter Together’
campaign is an expression of our collective
ambition, and actions, for a brighter
energy future.”
Colonel Chris Hadfield, the iconic astronaut
who was the first Canadian to walk in
space, is central to the new ‘We‘re Brighter
Together’ television commercial, which
was launched on December 25th. Hadfield
features in the campaign having had the
opportunity of seeing Ireland from the International
Space Station, experiencing
first-hand what the power of collective action
can truly achieve.
Speaking at the launch of the campaign,
he said; “I’ve flown three space missions,
commanded the International Space Station,
completed two spacewalks, and
served as a fighter/engineering test pilot.
Throughout my career, there has been one
constant – collaboration always results in
advancement. Electric Ireland’s Energy
Awareness Programme puts power and
knowledge directly into people‘s hands, so
that together with family, friends, colleagues
and communities, they can collaborate
to make a positive impact. Truly we
are brighter together.“
Electric Ireland offers a host of products
that can help home and business owners
lower their energy usage – 100 % Green
Electricity Price Plans, installation of EV
chargers for electric vehicles (the only
large supplier offering this service), smart
heating control systems, solar PV panels
and battery storage solutions – as well as
continuing with its long-standing discount
rate that doesn’t disappear after a year.
Electric Ireland also rewards customers
with special price plans for those with electric
heat pumps, the home heating solution
for most new homes. Finally, for those
homes that may experience fuel poverty,
Electric Ireland’s innovative ‘Energy Saving
Scheme’ will make €1.2m available in 2020
to ensure those customers can also be part
of the energy revolution.
About Electric Ireland
Electric Ireland was launched in 2011 as
the retail arm of ESB Group supplying electricity,
gas and energy services to the business
and residential markets in the Republic
of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Electric
Ireland is recognised as Ireland’s leading
energy provider, with a mission to create a
brighter future for the customers and communities
it serves.
LLwww.electricireland.ie
www.esb.ie
E.ON fordert neuen
gesellschaftlichen Konsens
für die Energiewende
(eon) „Wir brauchen einen neuen gesellschaftlichen
Grundkonsens für die Energiewende.
Der Sprung in die Energiewelt
der Zukunft ist eine Generationenaufgabe.
Wirtschaft, Politik, Regulierung – alle
sind gefordert, gemeinsam ihren Beitrag
dazu zu leisten, dass Deutschland bis
2050 klimaneutral wird. Damit dies gelingt,
brauchen wir Planungssicherheit
und starke Partnerschaften auf allen gesellschaftlichen
Ebenen und über alle unternehmerischen
Grenzen hinweg.“ Mit
diesen klaren Worten forderte Thomas
König, im E.ON-Vorstand für die europäischen
Energienetze zuständig, Anreize
und Weichenstellungen für mehr Innovationen
bei den Energienetzen. König diskutierte
vor mehr als 120 Vertretern aus
Politik und Regierung mit hochrangigen
Experten die Herausforderungen für
Energieunternehmen, Politik und Regulierung,
die sich aus Digitalisierung, Klimaschutz
und sektorenübergreifender
Energiewende ergeben.
König stellte fest, dass eine leistungsfähige
Infrastruktur unverzichtbar für das Gelingen
der Energiewende sei. Digitale Lösungen
seien insbesondere für eine effiziente
Sektorkopplung und eine intelligente Steuerung
der Netze von enormer Bedeutung.
König: „Die Basis dafür ist eine flächendeckend
ausgebaute und leistungsstarke Infrastruktur.
Ohne die geht es einfach nicht –
und wenn wir diese wichtige Infrastruktur
in Deutschland vernachlässigen, laufen alle
digitalen Ansätze ins Leere.“
Bei der Umsetzung der Energiewende
müsse Deutschland deutlich schneller und
ambitionierter werden, vor allem mit Blick
auf Planungs- und Genehmigungsverfahren,
so König. Diese sollten vereinfacht und
beschleunigt werden. Bei den vielfältigen
Widerspruchs- und Klagemöglichkeiten
gegen Investitionen habe Deutschland
„Mitte und Maß” verloren, Gemeinwohl
müsse wieder Vorrang vor Partikularinteressen
haben.
Um das Potenzial Erneuerbarer Energie
besser auszuschöpfen, müssten zudem
Netz- und Erneuerbaren-Ausbau besser
synchronisiert werden und grüner Strom
günstiger gemacht werden. Die sei eine der
Voraussetzungen, die Energiewende auch
auf Wärme und Verkehr auszuweiten. König
forderte, das undurchsichtige Dickicht
aus Steuern, Abgaben und Umlagen zu reformieren
und durch einen marktwirtschaftliche
Ordnungsrahmen zu ersetzen:
Eine Bepreisung von CO 2 und eine grundsätzliche
Technologieoffenheit seien den
kaum noch zu überblickenden Einzelregelungen
überlegen. König regte zudem an,
den aktuell widersprüchlichen Rechtsrahmen
zu korrigieren: „Der energierechtliche