Energy:THE GOVERNMENT is being asked to intervene to save key energy projects near Tarbert on the Shannon estuary worth €1 billion after a proposed change in the way gas suppliers pay tariffs.

A meeting of Kerry County Council this week heard how new tariffs outlined by the Commission for Energy Regulation, to be imposed on gas suppliers to make up for an expected reduction in the usage of the Bord Gáis interconnectors with the UK, were likely to jeopardise the Shannon Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) project, and had “shell-shocked” its backers.

The project by Hess Corporation has finally cleared the planning process after six years.

However, the new tariffs would cost the Shannon LNG project $75 million a year, and was now threatening its existence.