Bord Gáis has said that its moratorium on service disconnections for non-payment will remain in place for the duration of the current ‘Level 5’ Covid-19 restrictions.

The gas supply company said that this would apply to both business and residential customers.

The disconnection moratorium was introduced during the last period of Level 5 restrictions. Dave Kirwan, the managing director of Bord Gáis, said that people concerned with paying for energy should engage with the company to set up a “sustainable payment plan that will…avoid undue debt build-up on their accounts”.

The company has also ceased proactive residential and commercial door-to-door sales due to the public health guidelines, and those customers with meters are being advised to submit meter readings either online or via phone.

Service and repair work will continue, Bord Gáis said, and customers who are concerned about their boilers are encouraged to get in touch, despite Level 5 restrictions.

“A robust set of procedures are in place to keep both customers and service engineers safe in order to prevent against community transmission of Covid-19,” a statement said.

Sub-zero temperatures

Warm homes are certainly going to be needed over the coming days, with two new Status Yellow warnings being issued by Met Éireann for the full country – one for snow/ice and the other for low temperatures – with both alerts coming into effect tonight (Wednesday, January 6).

The two alerts, issued simultaneously at 11:00am this morning, come with the country in the midst of an ongoing cold snap.

The first warning, a Status Yellow low temperature / ice warning for Ireland – will come into effect at 8:00pm this evening. It will remain in place until 10:00am tomorrow.

Meanwhile, a second Status Yellow snow/ice warning for Ireland will be valid from 11:00pm tonight through to 11:00am tomorrow.