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One year after Bord Gáis launched its Big Switch
campaign, up to 300,000 customers have defected from the ESB
to avail of cheaper electricity.
The semi-state company set a target of amassing
one million gas and electricity customers by 2012 and is well
on the way, judging by the latest figures. The company has
600,000 gas customers.
Its target for the year had been the transfer
of 80,000-100,000 electricity customers. A spokesman for Bord
Gáis said a steady rate of transfers has been achieved over
the past 12 months.
"The momentum hasn’t slowed over the past 12
months. We have a steady rate of about 2,500 people transferring
each week. In the first few weeks after the campaign was launched,
we had figures of 10,000 a week and more," she said.
Bord Gáis has offered electricity rates at 10-14%
lower than the ESB for the first 12 months after switching.
For two years after that, the company guarantees that its
price will be 5% lower than the ESB’s prices.
"The advertising campaign
was very successful and now continuous house-to-house calls
are maintaining rates of transfer. We believe that the rate
of changeover reflects the changed market and the continued
desire for competition," she said.
Airtricity also operates in the domestic and
commercial electricity market. It has 150,000 customers and
is aiming to have 500,000 customers by 2013.
Bord Gáis purchases electricity from the single
electricity market (SEM) and will generate enough electricity
to power 400,000 homes with the construction of its 445 megawatt
power plant at Whitegate.
It is also investing in wind farm developments
and has joined with Mountside Properties - a shareholder in
the Tynagh Energy electricity venture in Galway - to build
four specialised electricity generating plants.
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