Energising a greener, fairer future

While we’re still at the start of our journey to embracing solar on a national scale, thanks to support like grants, we’re seeing more and more customers adopt solar energy to help future-proof their energy supply and reduce bills in the long term.

Our team of service engineers, the largest in the country, has installed over 1,500 solar solutions nationwide, helping customers lower costs and reduce dependence on fossil fuels.

Bord Gáis Energy and the Irish Farmers’ Association have partnered to offer rooftop solar solutions to Irish farmers and commercial enterprises. This initiative aims to help farmers manage their energy, reduce costs, and lower their carbon footprint.

By investing in these solar rooftop solutions, farmers can save upwards of €200,000 over the installation’s lifetime.

We’re due to launch  "Solar PV Scheme for Medically Vulnerable Homes" ,a government-funded initiative providing free solar panel installations for eligible homeowners, within the coming weeks . Managed by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), it supports medically vulnerable individuals who rely on electrical medical equipment and have limited ability to reduce electricity consumption. The scheme specifically targets those in the Life Support category of the Priority Services Register.

Our team of service engineers support customers in improving their home's efficiency through our diverse range of energy solutions, ultimately reducing long-term costs. From gas boilers to heat pumps, our highly skilled team can install, repair, or replace systems, elevating customers' homes to new levels of comfort. We will be offering a One Stop Shop offer from early 2025 for customers who want to undertake a range of measures at once, which will include advice on access to financial supports.

By 2030, our aim is to achieve 12,500 installations and 50,000 service and repairs of heat pumps.

Bord Gáis Energy is involved in SEAI’s Warmer Homes Scheme, which offers energy efficiency upgrades for homes in receipt of welfare payments. As part of this scheme, an SEAI surveyor will recommend upgrades that are suitable for the property based on factors such as its age, size, existing heating system and condition. Upgrades offered under the scheme include:

• New heating systems including hot water cylinders, radiators, heating controls, replacement boilers and heat pump upgrades 
• Windows
• Attic insulation
• Cavity wall insulation
• External wall insulation
• Internal wall insulation
• Secondary work such as lagging jackets, draught proofing and energy efficient lighting

With the ongoing rollout of smart meters across Ireland, we're promoting our range of supporting smart pricing plans to support customers in tracking and adjusting energy usage, empowering them to shift their electricity consumption habits to off-peak periods.

With uptake surpassing the European average, we're encouraged to see a growing number of customers transitioning to smart plans and reaping the benefits.

Smart technology doesn't stop there. Innovations like our home technology solution Hive are already revolutionizing energy consumption by integrating thermostats, lighting, motion sensors, and EV chargers. With compatibility with Apple HomeKit and Siri Shortcuts, the vision of fully automated energy-efficient homes could be a reality in less than 10 years.

In 2022, Bord Gáis Energy, in collaboration with the Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS) and St. Vincent de Paul (SVP), established an energy support fund to assist vulnerable customers struggling to pay bills amidst the ongoing crisis.

Throughout this period, we maintained a close partnership with the Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS), SVP, and Focus Ireland in managing this fund. €6.4 million of the fund has already been utilized to help over 7500 customers, and we continue to have a fund in place for customers who need it most.

Bord Gáis Energy has partnered with the social enterprise EnergyCloud Ireland to help combat fuel poverty and reduce energy waste across Ireland. Through this collaboration, surplus renewable electricity generated during off-peak hours is provided as top-ups to households experiencing fuel poverty This surplus energy, previously going to waste, now makes a meaningful difference in the lives of those facing fuel poverty, with families receiving a free tank of hot water on nights with surplus renewable energy.

Background:

• The prevention of family homelessness in Ireland is an area where we believe we can make a real difference and through our partnership with Focus Ireland, we have been working on making this a reality since 2015.
• To date, through a wide variety of initiatives, the partnership has raised €4.4 million and supported over 8,000 families at risk of or currently experiencing homelessness.
• We've pledged a further €2 million to help tackle family homelessness. This brings our total commitment to €4.4 million since we joined forces with Focus Ireland in 2015.

Some key activations

• During the next phase of our partnership, we will assist a further 10,000 families through advice, information and support programmes, and directly prevent 1,000 families from ever entering homelessness.
• Bord Gáis Energy also sponsors Focus Ireland’s initiative called the Lived Experience Ambassador Programme (LEAP) which enables people who have lived experience of homelessness to share their stories and help raise awareness of the issue.
•  Another key element of the partnership is the Bord Gáis Energy Empowerment Fund, which enables vulnerable children to have normal moments of childhood from basic items like new school uniforms to family outings or more critical interventions such as medical assessments.

Shine a light

• Bord Gáis Energy are proud sponsors of Focus Ireland’s fundraising initiative Shine A Light since 2019.  Shine A Light challenges business leaders and the general public across Ireland to sleep out for one night and in doing so raise vital funds to help alleviate homelessness. Bord Gáis Energy staff participation in the annual event is high, from senior leadership to teams across the business all sleeping out and helping raise funds via dedicated donation portals.
• Together with Focus Ireland we’ve raised over €10m within the SAL model. In 2024 we reached 1.3million in combined awareness and €690k in PR value for SAL.

Staff Volunteering

• Bord Gáis Energy employees volunteer approximately 1000 hours per year for various Focus Ireland events for homeless families such as the summer sports day, the Easter cinema day, the Christmas party and the annual Big Busk. In 2024 we hope to commit 1500 volunteering hours to Focus Ireland.

Making Stepdown facilities more energy efficient (Aylward Green)

• In 2023, Bord Gáis Energy teamed up with its long-standing charity partner, Focus Ireland, to improve the energy efficiency of 13 homes at Aylward Green, a supported family accommodation facility in Finglas, Dublin. This collaboration involved installing state-of-the-art boilers and smart heating controls, resulting in significant annual cost savings of €3,000 for Focus Ireland.
• Aylward Green, established in 2001 as Ireland's first facility of its kind, provides essential accommodation for individuals affected by homelessness.