Hundreds of thousands of people switched their electricity and gas provider last year to try and cut the costs of their utility bills.

The sale of a division of Bord Gáis has been abandoned after no buyer was willing to stump up the asking price.

Bord Gáis Éireann has invited Blackstone Group LP and power companies Viridian Group Ltd and Centrica Plc to make final offers for its retail unit by Nov 25, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

In a bad omen for the sale of Bord Gáis Energy, it has been reported that the New York-based fund Blackstone has been invited into the final round of bidding.

The Government has refused to comment on the effect that the withdrawal of Tenaga Nasional will have on the bidding process for the sale of Bord Gáis.

Following the withdrawal of one of the three bidders from the sales process, it now looks unlikely that Bord Gáis’s retail and power generation division will be sold before 2014.

Viridian Group Ltd — Northern Ireland’s largest energy supplier — hired Macquarie Group Ltd to advise on its bid for the retail and power generation unit of Irish state-owned gas company Bord Gáis, people with knowledge of the matter said.

Irish wind-farm operators will need to spend another €5bn or so in capital investment and construct an additional 3-3.5 gigawatts of onshore wind power if Ireland is to meet its 2020 EU climate change targets, according to a new report.

He is also a board member of Gemalto NV and sits on the audit committee and the strategy and M&A committee.

THE ESB has completed its £1.2 billion (€1.4bn) takeover of Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE) from the Viridian Group — a deal first agreed upon by the two parties in July.

THE big electricity suppliers have been given the go-ahead by the Government to make unlimited profits from a green energy scheme which, while funded by the planned 5% hike in electricity prices, offers consumers no guarantee of future reduced bills.

ESB has agreend to purchase Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE) in a deal worth more than €1.2bn, it was announced today.

THE ESB is in exclusive talks to buy the power network owned by the Viridian Group in Northern Ireland.

WORKERS at the ESB have told the company its board willbe compromised if it agrees to subsidise large electricity users to the tune of €176 million at the behest of the Government.

COILLTE, the state forestry board, is expecting to make a loss for 2009, as a whole, after seeing profits sink by more than €30 million last year.

Irish energy group Viridian today announced its acquisition of wind farm operator Eco Wind Power from Treasury Holdings.

A new electricity market for the island of Ireland finally became a reality today.

Veridian Group's Patrick Bourke, currently group finance director, is to become group chief executive, it was announced today.

The new owners of Northern Ireland electricity firm Viridian have reshuffled their top management.

ENERGIA has won a €12.5 million contract to supply electricity to over 200 Government offices nationwide.

The question of who exactly is going to benefit from the break-up of the Electricity Supply Board (ESB) has not been answered to anyone’s satisfaction.

IRISH energy business Viridian Group has welcomed an initiative by Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources Noel Dempsey to secure further independent power generation in the Irish market.

IN granting permission for the ESB to build a new power station at Aghada, near Midleton, Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources Noel Dempsey may be doing the consumer a favour, even though some of the conditions he attached may be commercially controversial.

THE ESB’s ambitions to take over Belfast-based energy company Viridian may be resurrected if Arcapita, the Bahrain venture capital group, decides to sell on the business at a later date.

BAHRAIN-BASED Islamic investment firm Arcapita Bank said yester- day, it had completed its £1.62 billion (€2.4bn) purchase of Viridian Group, the North’s biggest electricity supplier.

Court approval has been given for ISEQ-listed energy company Viridian to be taken over by ElectricInvest Acquisitions Ltd.

Energia, an electricity supplier owned by ISEQ-listed Viridian, has entered into long-term contracts with developers for the construction of 15 new wind farms in Ireland.

Viridian, one of the North's main electricity suppliers, today reported a drop in operating profits for the six months to the end of September.

It was a good day on the ISEQ, especially for all-island energy group Viridian, as the index gained 79.22 points to close at 8427.75.

The London market continued to build on its five-month high today as utility companies took centre stage and investors cheered another record performance on Wall Street.

The North's main electricity supplier, Viridian, confirmed today that it had agreed to the terms of a £1.6bn (€2.4bn) private equity takeover.

A state-of-the-art gas turbine which will form the heart of the Viridian Group’s second major power station in Huntstown, north of Dublin arrived on site yesterday.

SHARES in Viridian Group jumped in early afternoon trading in London yesterday after the group, Northern Ireland’s leading energy supplier, said it had received a takeover approach.

Energy company Viridian – parent of Northern Ireland Electricity – today confirmed it was the subject of takeover interest.

The ISEQ gained 38.98 points to 8036.94 this morning as Elan suffered another wobble and the good news continued for C&C.

Blue Zinc, a Belfast-based software and consultancy company, has won an award for significant business growth over the last year.

IRISH Energy company Viridian Group has accepted final proposals from Northern Ireland’s Authority for Energy Regulation regarding price controls from April 2007.

The ISEQ index of shares recovered from early losses to close 34.05 points higher at 7792.02 today.

The ISEQ slipped 7.15 points to 7750.82 by mid-morning.

Energia, an energy supplier and part of the ISEQ-listed Viridian group, has signed a new nationwide power-supply agreement with Travelsavers Ireland.

The creation of a groundbreaking single electricity market for the island of Ireland is being delayed for four months, it was announced today.

THE Irish government is preparing to launch a tendering process in the next few weeks for the construction of a €500 million electricity interconnector, linking Ireland with Wales.

ENERGIA – the Republic-based subsidiary of Northern Ireland power supply group, Viridian – has won a tender to supply electricity to three Government Departments.

INDEPENENT electricity provider Energia has been awarded a major contract to supply power to 101 Government offices nationwide.