Interconnector drives price cuts

Wholesale electricity prices in Ireland have fallen by 11% since Eirgrid’s €600 million East West 500mw Interconnector with Britain became fully operational, the latest Bord Gáis Energy Index reveals.

As there are a number of variables involved in determining the cost of electricity, it is too early to determine if the interconnector will drive prices down significantly for consumers in the coming months, but the trend is in the right direction.

And Eirgrid is planning a €1bn interconnector to France, to be completed by 2025 as part of a plan to integrate Ireland into the wider European electric grid and give Irish consumers access to cheaper, nuclear-generated electricity from France.