Ireland – Customer services – Provision of Consultancy Support to the CRU’s Customer Care Team (CCT) Dispute Resolution Function

The Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) is Ireland’s independent energy and water regulator. The CRU has a wide range of economic, customer protection and safety responsibilities in energy and water. The CRU’s mission is to protect the public interest in Water, Energy and Energy Safety. The work of the CRU impacts every Irish home and business, by ensuring safe, secure and sustainable energy and water supplies at a reasonable cost. The Customer Care Team (CCT) sits in the Customer Policy and Protection and Legal division of the CRU. The team is responsible for delivering two key statutory functions for the CRU - Providing the Commission’s dispute resolution service for unresolved disputes between final customers and service providers. This obligation is set out in Section 7 of S.I. No. 463 of 2011 and Section 8 of the Water Services Act 2014. - Acting as a single point of contact to provide final customers with necessary information concerning their statutory rights in relation to engaging with energy undertakings and obligations of said undertakings, among other things. This obligation is set out in full in Section 8 of S.I. No. 463 of 2011. Services are sought primarily in relation to the CCT’s dispute resolution function. Over the last year the CCT has experienced a substantial increase in the volume of complaint cases received from customers. This is driven by a range of factors including high energy prices, energy market developments (such as the emergency electricity credit and new support for microgeneration), increased customer awareness of the CRU and its dispute resolution service, and the increasing remit of the CRU).