ESB prepares for grid switchover

RESPONSIBILITY for managing the country's power line network will finally be switched from the ESB to a separate State-owned firm in the summer, the Government said yesterday.

Communications minister Noel Dempsey said "the remaining pieces of the jigsaw" were close to being resolved and that Eirgrid, a new dedicated body independent of the ESB, would take over the running of the national grid shortly.

Plans for the changeover to Eirgrid have been in place for years, but the process has been stalled by complications over the ownership of the assets that make up the grid, as well as negotiations over staff affected by the switch. The changeover has been sparked by the programme to encourage new entrants to the Irish power market to take on the ESB.