Electricity Costs (Emergency Measures) Domestic Accounts Act 2023
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Establishment of No. III Scheme | ||
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2. (1) On the coming into operation of this section there shall stand established a scheme to be known as the Electricity Costs Emergency Benefit Scheme III to be operated in accordance with this Act and any regulations made thereunder. | ||
(2) The No. III Scheme is established for the purpose of making an electricity costs emergency benefit payment in each payment period during the relevant period in accordance with this Act and any regulations made thereunder out of resources allocated for the purposes of the No. III Scheme under subsection (3). | ||
(3) (a) The Minister shall, out of such monies as are available to him or her from monies provided by the Oireachtas, and with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, allocate such amount as he or she determines for the purposes of the No. III Scheme. | ||
(b) The amount allocated under paragraph (a) shall not exceed €1.007 billion. | ||
(c) The Minister shall estimate the amount required to be allocated under paragraph (a) for the purposes of making electricity costs emergency benefit payments under section 5 (2) and, in so doing, the Minister shall have regard to the number of domestic electricity accounts notified to him or her by the distribution system operator in accordance with section 4 (1)(b) in so far as it refers to section 4 (1)(a)(i). | ||
(d) The Minister may request information additional to that notified to him or her in accordance with section 4 (1)(b) including up-to-date information in relation to the number of domestic electricity accounts, the number of low usage electricity accounts, the number of low usage electricity accounts held by registered vulnerable customers and an estimate of the number of such accounts where the final customer may be eligible to be a registered vulnerable customer, the number of micro-generation accounts and the number of hardship meter accounts from the distribution system operator for the purpose of allocating an amount under paragraph (a). | ||
(4) The No. III Scheme shall be operated and administered by the distribution system operator and electricity suppliers in accordance with this Act and any regulations made thereunder. |