The ESB has deferred its plan to ring Cork Harbour with 84 pylons.
The board announced yesterday that it has agreed with the Cobh Anti-Pylon Representative Association (CARA) to a joint review of the proposal, which will be conducted under the chairmanship of Mr Phil Flynn.
The review will examine the ESB's need to strengthen its network in the harbour area; the impact on health and the environment; the effect on agricultural land, as well as property values around the harbour; and CARA's proposal for an underwater cable system rather than overland pylons.
It is expected the review will be completed within three months. CARA has argued that, as well as creating fears for public safety, the pylons would diminish the natural beauty of the harbour area and detract from its tourism value.
In Cobh, the anti-pylon group collected hundreds of signatures and vowed that, if necessary, it would conduct a campaign of civil disobedience to prevent the board from erecting the 22km overhead line between Aghada and Rafeen in the harbour area.
For its part, the board argued that unless power supplies were augmented the growing industrial base on Cork Harbour would face power shortages, as would the increasing number of privately owned homes in the area.