The Government needs to look at 'every line' on electricity bills to see where costs can be cut for customers.
That's according to Sinn Féin's spokesperson on climate action, Darren O'Rourke.
He was speaking as people across the country grapple with the rising cost of living.
He told Newstalk Breakfast: "The Government needs to look, at a European level and an Irish level, where the margin is for them to intervene.
"We have cases there for example where there are proposals by the Irish Government to add to household bills in Ireland through carbon tax, through emergency generation schemes that they have built.
"At a time when bills are at the level that they are at, and looking like they are going to increase, the Government needs to look at every line on the bill and look at where they can reduce rather than add to it".
Deputy O'Rourke said some of it is down to 'mismanagement'.
"I think that the picture is becoming clearer in terms of the security of supply and the risk of blackouts.
"We had a long committee meeting on Tuesday of this week where we heard from Eirgrid, the CRU and the department and the Minister.
"They outlined those very tight margins as we head into this winter.
"Some of that is due to the significant mismanagement, the failure to deliver generation capacity on the one side.
"And on the other side the rollout of data centres and the significant - 9% - year-on-year increase in demand.
"The other piece which I think is of real concern to people is the runaway cost of electricity.
"The rule book, essentially, has been thrown out the window in terms of where the price of gas can go.
"I think something absolutely needs to be done in terms of decoupling gas from the price of electricity".
The European Commission has said it is working on an "emergency intervention and a structural reform" of the electricity market across the bloc.
Speaking on Monday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said: "The era of Russian fossil fuels in Europe is coming to an end.
"And with freedom from blackmail will come greater power to defend global rules.
"That has to be our next strategic approach. Ending our dependency on Russian fossil fuels is only the first step.
"The skyrocketing electricity prices are now exposing, for different reasons, the limitations of our current electricity market design.
"It is no longer fit for purpose. That is why we, the Commission, are now working on an emergency intervention and a structural reform of the electricity market.
"We need a new market model for electricity that really functions and brings us back into balance", she added.
