Iarnród Éireann awards electricity supply rights to Energia

Iarnród Éireann today confirmed the award of electricity supply rights for Dublin’s DART to power provider, Energia.

The €3m contract is for an annual electricity requirement of 3 Megawatts (MW), the equivalent usage of more than 3,000 homes.

Energia will supply electricity from its gas-fired power generating station at Huntstown in Dublin.

DART carries up to 90,000 commuters daily and is undergoing a €176m upgrade and expansion which will see passenger capacity rise by more than 30%.

All stations and power management capabilities are being upgraded to facilitate longer trains and more than 40 new carriages are being phased into service following an €80m investment in new rolling stock.

Energia’s parent company, Viridian Group is investing €250m in a second new power plant in Dublin. The new facility will provide 400 Megawatts of additional generating capacity when it comes on line in mid-2007.

Energia has offices in Dublin, Cork, Galway and Belfast

Viridian Group PLC is listed on the Dublin and London stock exchanges and employs more than 2,600 people. In 2003/04 the group had a turnover of €1.248bn.