Unionist leaders object to ESB’s Northern Ireland Electricity takeover

UNIONIST leaders in the North have formally objected to the ESB’s planned takeover of Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE); a deal which was initially announced back in July.

Back then, the ESB announced that it had reached “conditional agreement” with the Arcapita-owned Viridian Group to purchase its Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE) subsidiary for just over £1 million (€1.25m).

ESB chief executive Padraig McManus said at the time that the deal “demonstrates ESB’s continued ambition to grow our business in the rapidly changing energy sector on this island”, adding that NIE is a “well-run, efficient business that will continue to operate on that basis”, while the ESB is “fully committed” to delivering significant investment in the North.