A pensioner and a disabled woman claim to have been forced to live in conditions similar to the tenement slums of Dublin after their gas bill increased by 565%.
Karen Butler-Lynch, 64, and her aunt Annette Manning, 71, were hit with a €815 gas bill for a four week period. Karen is on disability allowance after she was left with major injuries after she collapsed on a street in Dublin and Annette is on the pension after she retired from the catering industry.
The pair could not pay the total bill in the middle of the cost of living crisis and instead paid €200 under what they thought was an agreed payment plan with the gas supplier. However, Kaizen Energy allegedly told them they had seven days to pay the bill or face being cut off the heating and hot water system in an email sent yesterday.
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The correspondence, which was seen by Dublin Live, read: "In order to remain connected to the communal heating system in Shelbourne Plaza payment of the balance needs to be made within the next 7 days."
A spokesman for Kaizen Energy denied they were "isolating heat customers" and added they are working with the management company to reduce the gas costs. He said: "Kaizen Energy are currently not isolating heating customers in line with the current CRU guidelines.
"We are currently liaising with the management company in regard to restructuring the gas contract to avail of new lower commercial rates. This will result in a significant drop in the system gas costs."
All of the tenants in Shelbourne Plaza in Ringsend saw major increases in their gas bills after their property management entered a 12-month contract with fixed rates for gas. The charge for a kilowatt hour of gas was 9 cent before the new contract but the rate shot up to 50 cent per kilowatt hour under the new contract - a shocking five-fold increase.
The increase meant Karen and Annett's bill for November and December went from €178 in 2021 to €1,203 last year - which represents an increase of 568%. It should be noted the 2021 billing period had 13 fewer days.
Karen and Annette were left frustrated, angered and confused by the situation as they had not agreed to any new gas contract. Karen told Dublin Live: "It is horrific.
"We don't even have the choice to change our provider - we are stuck with these. We got an email this morning saying if we didn't get the €615 overdue we are going to get disconnected."
The two women have resorted to showering once a week, washing the dishes with boiled water from the kettle and putting the heat on for three hours maximum a day. Karen said: "We are sitting here in the cold and we are not even using the gas.
"We are boiling kettles, it is like we have gone back to the tenement days." Annette, who was a catering assistant in the Royal Irish Academy before retiring said: "I am very stressed.
"I am 71 now and I never owed any bills to anyone and now they are threatening to cut us off if we don't pay the [outstanding] €615.
"I am just praying now that something will give and we will be able to get back to any kind of normality that we can. It has been happening since January 9 - we have been watching what we have been putting on, trying not to use too much hot water.
She added: "We have gone to boiled kettles to wash plates and only take one shower a week. We put the heat on for an hour in the morning and an hour or two in the evening."
A spokeswoman for Tuath Housing said: "While we cannot discuss individual tenancies, Tuath Housing is aware of escalating energy prices that have been impacting residents and are working as part of a multi-organisational working group seeking State intervention to address these issues and with residents to lessen the impact .
"Whilst we sympathise with the increase in energy bills we cannot be responsible for energy usage, prices or tariffs"
The manager's of the apartment complex did not respond to queries from Dublin Live.
Karen moved to Canada to raise her daughter as a single mother when she was younger and stayed close to her aunt Annette, who visited her regularly. After her daughter grew up, Karen decided to move back to Ireland to take care of Annette who was getting older and start her own business.
However, in 2020 Karen collapsed on Suffolk Street and suffered four broken bones in her foot, a fractured wrist and a concussion. She says she was "never the same after that" and she was forced to go on disability allowance despite having run her own businesses in Canada.
She had plans to start a business in Ireland but Annette ended up caring for her because of the injuries she suffered after she collapsed.
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