YouTube

Kev Collins is wrong about marginal pricing, curtailment, and ETS2

Brief

Decarbonize! (presentation/critique, published 29 June 2026) challenges Kev Collins’s explanation for rising Irish electricity prices, arguing fossil gas does raise wholesale costs under marginal pricing and that the analysis omits RESS payments, curtailment and interconnector effects. The video cites the 2025 curtailment report and urges more renewables, grid upgrades and battery storage, while noting ETS2’s policy relevance.

Why it matters

Under Ireland's marginal-pricing market, gas-fired plants often set the wholesale price during scarcity, making fossil gas a significant driver of high electricity costs (Marginal Pricing, 0:49).

Key details

  • Renewable curtailment, support payments from the Renewable Energy Support Scheme (RESS), and constrained interconnector flows materially increase system costs — see the Annual Renewable Energy Constraint and Curtailment Report 2025 for growing curtailment impacts (Curtailment, 7:03).
  • Decarbonize! recommends accelerating wind/solar deployment, targeted grid upgrades and expanded battery storage to reduce reliance on gas and lower prices; it also flags the EU ETS2 extension (buildings and road transport) as an important policy influence on energy costs (ETS2, 14:00).
Cleaned source text

The video critiques Kev Collins’s analysis of the factors driving up electricity costs in Ireland. It argues that fossil gas does contribute to high costs, the analysis overlooks the impact of the Renewable Energy Support Scheme (RESS) and the role of curtailment and interconnectors. The video emphasizes the need for more renewables, grid upgrades, and battery storage to reduce reliance on gas and lower electricity prices.

Kev Collins’s video: Three Mechanisms Driving Up Costs

@Kev_Collins

If you'd like to support my work, you can buy me a beverage

My videos referenced in my video

Dunkelflaute: How to solve the serious problem with the funny name

Stop using 20th century technology in the 21st century

Another thing Europe does better than the US: Subsidize renewable energy

Building an Electrical Bridge from Ireland to France: The Celtic Connector

Can Ireland power data centres and people’s homes?

Putting a cost on carbon: It's not a climate change panacea, but it's the closest we have

Why aren’t we using the best technology to enhance our grid?

References

Annual Renewable Energy Constraint and Curtailment Report 2025

Grid upgrade to boost battery storage role in power system

ETS2: Buildings, road transport and additional sectors

ETS2 AND ENERGY COSTS: WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS FOR CONSUMERS?

Milk and dairy products

Electricity in Ireland in 2025

Marginal pricing: the key to efficient electricity markets

Eyes on the Price: Which Power Generation

Technologies Set the Market Price?

Ireland Publishes Large Energy-User Action Plan (LEAP)

Timestamps

Intro 0:00

Marginal Pricing 0:49

Curtailment 7:03

ETS2 14:00

Data Centres 16:00

Conclusion 17:15

Channel: Decarbonize!

Published: 2026-06-29

Video URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28fRS0iPVk0