Advertising to boost energy efficiency: the Power of One campaign and natural gas consumption. ESRI WP280. February 2009

In this paper we study the recent awareness and persuasion campaign launched by the Irish government to increase energy efficiency and we assess its effect on residential natural gas consumption. We first analyse changes in the daily consumption of natural gas and find that advertising leaflets had a significant effect on natural gas consumption. We then study three surveys administered to 1000 consumers prior to and during the campaign. This repeated cross-section allows us to determine that the efficiency campaign has increased self-reported interest in energy efficiency and awareness of behaviours that curb natural gas consumption. However we do not find any positive effect of the campaign on self-reported energy-saving behaviours

Goldilocks and the Three Electricity Prices: Are Irish Prices “Just Right”?*. ESRI WP372. January 2011

In this paper we analyse the 2008 electricity price in the Irish All-Island Market. We test whether this price is ‘efficient’ by comparing it to the electricity price in Great Britain. This analysis suggests that around €16 per MWh of the difference in wholesale prices between Ireland and Britain is due to differences in generating technology. The new wholesale electricity market for the island of Ireland appears to be working well – it is producing a wholesale price that approximates the long run marginal cost that would apply in a large liquid competitive market. In the British market the wholesale price appears to be below the long run marginal cost of producing electricity. Retail margins in Great Britain are high, especially for households. Only some of this margin compensates vertically integrated utilities for the low wholesale price. In the Republic of Ireland the retail margin was probably also higher than it should have been

Advertising to boost energy efficiency: the Power of One campaign and natural gas consumption

In this paper we study the recent awareness and persuasion campaign launched by the Irish government to increase energy efficiency and we assess its effect on residential natural gas consumption. We first analyse changes in the daily consumption of natural gas and find that advertising leaflets had a significant effect on natural gas consumption. We then study three surveys administered to 1000 consumers prior to and during the campaign. This repeated cross-section allows us to determine that the efficiency campaign has increased self-reported interest in energy efficiency and awareness of behaviours that curb natural gas consumption. However we do not find any positive effect of the campaign on self-reported energy-saving behaviours.

Medium-Term Review 2008-2015, No. 11

mtr

Public policy towards the sale of state assets in troubled times: Lessons from the Irish experience

The sale of state assets, both tangible (e.g. commercial firms) and intangible (e.g. radio spectrum), can address budgetary shortfalls. However, drawing on the Irish experience to inform this important issue, it becomes clear that much more is involved in selling state assets in electricity, gas, and transport than ranking such assets by value. Wider public policy considerations need to be taken into account in deciding what to sell and under what conditions. The paper outlines how these wider issues, relating to competition and regulation, can be dealt with so that the sale of state assets will enhance societal welfare