ESB chief executive Mr Ken O'Hara faces a crucial board meeting this morning. The agenda of the meeting, the first under chairman Mr Tadhg O'Donoghue, is understood not to have matters relating to Mr O'Hara's position on it.

But informed sources believe his performance will be discussed by directors, some of whom have expressed serious reservations about his management of the State-run company.

It was considered unlikely yesterday that the chief executive would face a confidence motion.

Instead, directors are expected to seek a compromise or modus vivendi between Mr O'Hara and those opposed to him. In such a scenario, it is thought crucial that Mr O'Hara would achieve a significant success soon.

His spokesman declined to comment, as did an ESB spokesman.

Mr O'Hara is believed prepared to argue that his receipt of a performance-related bonus in the past two years meant there was no suggestion the board was unsatisfied with his management. Those bonuses are believed to have been worth about £36,000 (€45,710) each, or 20 per cent of his £180,000 salary.

The chief executive is believed to consider dissent within the board, and among certain managers, as only a distraction. At the same time, certain board members are said to be unhappy about elements of the company's performance. Reports of their dissatisfaction emerged after they decided in January against floating the company, an option publicly championed by Mr O'Hara.

Mr O'Hara was also damaged by network technicians' rejection last month of changes deemed crucial to the State transmission network's upgrading. The delay to that project is considered to be of national significance by senior figures within the company.

Further uncertainty surrounds a plan to reduce the ESB's staff by a quarter, to 6,000 from 8,000. The board wanted agreement on the issue last October, but no deal is imminent.