The fall in monthly PSO charges across all customer categories from 1 October.

The Fourth Gas Package applies from 5 August

Directive (EU) 2024/1788 had to be transposed into national law by Wednesday 5 August 2026, and its rules apply from that date. The Directive recasts the 2009 gas market rules and creates the first EU regulatory framework for dedicated hydrogen infrastructure and markets.

The Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment opened a consultation on implementing the wholesale gas provisions on 30 July, six days before the date. Several member states are still completing transposition, with Germany’s implementing act also due to conclude over the summer.

Imported renewable gas needs a sustainability certificate

Imported gas guarantees of origin require a valid sustainability certificate from 5 August 2026, the Directive’s transposition date. Trading of UK guarantees of origin is not permitted.

Gas Networks Ireland is to publish registration requirements no later than September 2026, with issuance through the new registry starting no later than January 2027. The pilot registry issues no new certificates after 31 December 2026. Annual fees are set at €2,000 for producers and €3,000 for suppliers and traders.

CRU cuts network revenue allowances by €138m

The Commission for Regulation of Utilities approved the 2026/27 electricity network charges on 29 July, reducing network revenue allowances by €138 million. The impact on a typical domestic customer is about €41.25 over the period, or €3.44 a month.

The same decision approved a lower Public Service Obligation levy, with monthly PSO charges falling 66% across all customer categories from 1 October 2026.

Galway grants permission for a 240 MWh battery

Galway County Council granted planning permission on 5 August for a 240 MWh battery energy storage system at Somerset, County Galway, proposed by Regnum Renewables Developments Limited. No objections were received during the planning process.

The 3.02 hectare site sits beside the existing Somerset 110 kV substation about 6.5 km south of Ballinasloe, and comprises 31 containerised battery modules, 12 inverters, six transformers and a 38 kV substation compound.

Battery electric becomes Ireland’s leading powertrain

20,164 battery electric cars were registered in the first half of 2026, a 24% share of 85,203 new cars and a rise of 48% on the same period last year. New car registrations overall were up 4%.

July then set a monthly record at 9,682, lifting the year-to-date total to 29,840 and the share to 26.12%, ahead of hybrid at 24.59%, petrol at 20.39%, plug-in hybrid at 14.45% and diesel at 12.45%. The stock lags the flow. 134,475 electric vehicles were on the road at the end of June, 4% of a 3.34 million vehicle fleet.

Department for the Economy opens a heat networks consultation

The Department for the Economy opened an eight week consultation at noon on 6 August on the first phase of a Northern Ireland specific regulatory framework for heat networks, closing at midnight on 1 October.

The proposals would establish the Utility Regulator’s role in heat networks, introduce an authorisation regime for operators, and set consumer protections on metering and billing. For the southern read-across, the CRU is separately developing a district heating regulatory regime, so the two frameworks will be worth reading side by side.

Maxwell, founder and chief executive of SDCL, argues that energy efficiency should be treated as a strategic resource and that unused industrial heat is one of Europe’s most overlooked energy assets. The passages on gas against electricity pricing and on data centre power demand are the ones that carry across to the Irish debate.