A Robinstown pensioner has been hit with a whopping electricity bill of almost €1700 almost SEVEN TIMES, more than his normal bill and now he has said he won’t pay it as someone needs to make a stand agaikes.
Gerry Clarke (77) lives in Robinstown, with his son and daughter-in-law.
He is an Electric Ireland customer, he said that this time last year his electricity bill winst electricity price has €290.
However, this week he received a bill for €1,678.65 for the period running from December 9 to February 10.
Oil is used to heat his home, while electricity is mostly used for lighting, appliances and a water pump.
Gerry keeps horses and he uses a horse-walker machine for the animals, but he is baffled as, “that has been the case for the last 15 years” and it would not account for the sudden surge in his electricity bills.
He told the independent.ie website, “This is what I can’t understand – nothing has changed,
“My son and daughter in law are away from the house seven eights of the time and I keep myself busy outside.
“I’m not in a position to pay this and I am going to fight it.
“If it was any other country people would be out on the streets. Ireland for some strange reason sits back and accepts it. Well, I’m not going to accept it.
“My bill went from €290 to €1,678.65. There’s no rhyme nor reason to the whole thing.
“I put on the heating in the evening because I maintain there’s no point having a successful life if you can’t have a bit of heating in the evening and we (older people) feel the cold more than young people.
“When I opened this latest bill I almost had to be scraped off the floor, I showed it to someone who specialises in statistics and they estimated that “it’s not the dearest in Europe, it’s the dearest bill for a household in the world”.
“I love a good fight especially, when I’m on the right side,” he added. “I am determined to fight this thing, and not on my behalf, but on the behalf of Ireland.”
A spokesperson for Electric Ireland said the organisation “does not comment on individual customer accounts but offers a range of customer supports”.
“Electric Ireland has not increased its residential prices since October 1, 2022, and is acutely aware of the impact of energy bills on families and businesses – we will continue to keep prices under constant review” .
Gerry Clarke says he contacted nine different TD’s and the only one who took up his case was Sinn Féins Johnny Guirke who raised it with the Taoiseach in the Dáil on Wednesday.
