All-Ireland electricity market 'closer'

The drive to create an all-island Irish electricity market moved on a further step today.

The latest significant milestone for the wholesale electrify sector was passed with the signing of a formal Memorandum of Understanding by the respective transmission systems operators in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

ESB National Grid (ESBNG) and the System Operator Northern Ireland (SONI) signed the memorandum, underlining their commitment to combine their skills and resources to work jointly on a number of important initiatives as part of the all-island project.

They said they were pleased to announce their intention to establish, on a joint basis, the Single Market Operator, which would be central to the development of an all-island electricity market capable of delivering choice and competitive prices to consumers.

The memorandum should be followed by the signing of a formal agreement next February to establish the new market operator , in time to meet the deadline of July 1 2007 for the start of the single electricity market.

In a statement the organisations said the single market operator would be designed to ensure that the appropriate corporate structure would deliver efficient business functions for the all-island market.

It would have an all-island identity and “operate in a transparent and customer-focused manner,” they said.

“It will be independent and impartial, operating on behalf of all market participants on the island,” added the statement.