EirGrid Bill to give company new powers

EIRGRID, THE independent electricity transmission system operator will have greatly increased powers under legislation introduced in the Dáil yesterday.

Minister for Energy and Natural Resources Eamon Ryan said the Electricity Regulation (Amendment) (EirGrid) Bill would give the "dynamic new player" in the market an enhanced role and it "underpins the development of electricity interconnection generally".

He added that "the early enactment of this Bill will also facilitate the delivery to schedule of the East-West electricity interconnector".

The Bill also allows EirGrid to increase its borrowing limit to €750 million, which would assist in funding development of the East-West interconnector.

He pointed out that "EirGrid is currently progressing the development of the second North-South interconnector in co-operation with the Northern Ireland authorities", and said that "the Government attaches the highest priority to this project, which will contribute to security of supply and competitiveness, as well as providing increased potential for the export of wind-generated electricity".

Fine Gael energy and natural resources spokesman Simon Coveney said "the East-West interconnector between Ireland and Britain needs to be built as soon as possible". The legislation "is necessary to ensure there will be no further delays regarding this project, which should be completed by now. It has taken too long."

Labour spokeswoman Liz McManus pointed out that "the growth in our population and in energy use requires investment in the energy infrastructure that has in the past experienced under-investment. The margin of cover between demand and supply is so narrow, fears have been expressed about outages resulting during winter months. "

Johnny Brady (FF, Meath West) expressed concern about EirGrid's plans for overhead cables in the building of the North-South interconnector.

"Any potential health risk posed by overhead power lines is unacceptable. Pollutants from electromagnetic fields produced by overhead lines will subject the weakest and most vulnerable in our communities to the possibility of illness and distress."

Thomas Byrne (FF, Meath East) said: "You can read all the WHO studies you like, but when one visits communities where there are already pockets of cancer, it is impossible to argue there is no health risk, particularly as many studies recognise this risk."