If we all moved to Airtricity /Bord Gais, wouldn't that create jobs?

[sadie]

If we all moved our electricity accounts to alternative providers Airtricity and Bord Gais, wouldn't that create a good few jobs?

Seeing as people can't get fired from the ESB, no-one there would lose their jobs.
I know ultimately ESB would run out of money and come looking to the taxpayer for a bailout, but wouldn't it work for a few years anyway??

 

[micmclo]

I'm not sure on how the ESB is structured.

Is it the ESB or Eirgrid that sell the electricity generated to Airtricity /Bord Gais?
So realy, moving from the ESB doesn't affect them in the slightest.

 

[TarfHead]

I'm with Airtricity, but I'm pretty sure that my electricity does not come from a wind turbine. It probably comes from a peat burning station in theMidlands, or along the interconnector from the UK, possibly Sellafield .

 

[sunrock]

Its only a paper exercise designed to give the illusion of competition.The electricity comes down the same line from the same soucre. A single electricity line might provide all the electricity for a small estate or street or even a block of flats. The individual flats or houses might all have signed up to different providers. Just like eircom and perlico and the like ,there will probably be some small savings from switching but one needs to be on the ball to keep an eye on prices and service and hidden charges.The other service providers still have to buy the electricity off the EsB or pay eircom for the line rental.

 

[Caveat]

...but wouldn't it work for a few years anyway??

Ah, a budding student of Berti-nomics I see!

 

[Slash]

I'm not sure on how the ESB is structured.

I am. Full of old men with very outdated ideas about how a company should be run. They still think they're part of the Civil Service (No, I am not a CS basher) and their job is to maintain jobs for the boys. The way they waste money in there is well documented elsewhere.

So, to answer your question, if consumers and businesses decide to move to alternative suppliers, it will not result in more jobs, but it might force the ESB to behave like a commercial organisation, which would be a good thing.

 

[Leo]

The consumer supply side of ESB would be the only area impacted. Generation and network management wouldn't be.

So BG or Airticity might hire a small number of extra staff to handle the account setup and billing admin, but there wouldn't be a significant number of jobs created.