Over 1,000 businesses sign up to suspend gas standing charges

More than 1,000 businesses have signed up to suspend standing charge payments for their gas supply after the semi-State company which operates the gas network said it would forego charges for three months for businesses not consuming gas as a result of Covid-19. The charges will be written off.

Gas Networks Ireland, a subsidiary of Ervia which operates the State's natural gas network, at the start of this month opened applications for its Covid-19 Supply Suspension Scheme to allow small and medium businesses forego network usage charges while they are not consuming gas.

The savings for a business ranges from €150 to €4,500 over the lifetime of the scheme, which runs for three months.

Gas Networks Ireland managing director Denis O’Sullivan said the scheme was devised to alleviate financial pressure on small and medium businesses which have faced increased difficulty as a result of the Covid-19 crisis.

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“We hope that this measure, along with other supports from government, will assist these businesses in getting back on their feet as quickly as possible and support overall economic recovery.”

Businesses are charged the network-usage charge based on the volume of natural gas they use.

Gas Networks Ireland has advised natural gas business customers to contact their supplier, which will assess their eligibility for the scheme.