ESB workers all set to reject White Paper

THE Government is to be left in no uncertain terms that ESB workers will not co-operate with its Energy White Paper — and that the unions have the power to stop its implementation.

The unions yesterday met with Minister for Communications Marine and Natural Resources Noel Dempsey to outline their concerns with the paper, the key initiative of which is the transfer of the electricity transmission grid from the ESB to another State body, Eirgrid.

The ESB workers are concerned the Government has not done a meaningful cost analysis, that it will not lead to a reduction of prices to the workers, will not generate meaningful competition and, most importantly, it will lead to the evolution of the ESB into a lame organisation with devalued assets. They are the shareholders in those assets.

The unions have called a press conference for tomorrow and according to one union source: “The unions will be quite adamant they will not be co-operating.

“All the physical work on the grid is done by the ESB staff. They are in a powerful position. Forgetting about generation, the transmission people can decide ‘if that is what they are doing it is our view that for the next week we are not going to do any operation or any transmission work.’

“All the switching of operation has to be done by the people on the ground. Eirgrid are saying they will take the chiefs (management) but they will not take the Indians. The Indians may show shortly they are a lot more influential than the 14 managers. There is a lot more chance of running the grid with them.”

He said Wednesday will be a ‘marker’ to the Minister and there will be no ambiguity as all the unions are in the same position.

“Noel Dempsey did not satisfy any of the concerns. He was saying no one will be made redundant and no one will be laid off. That is not the issue. The issue is that the workers do not want to work for a ‘basket case’ company.”

As battle-lines between the government and staff of the ESB are drawn, the system itself is proving to be in difficulty also. It is understood that in the last week there has been more than one ‘amber alert’ which occurs when the national grid informs the ESB’s generators that they are reaching a point where demand is about to outstrip supply.

When that happens it can lead to blackouts in sections of the grid.

According to the union source, that simply should not be happening.

“You might expect that between October and January, but not in March,” he said. “If the ESB had their way they would close some of the old plants and build a new plant. Some of the plants are 30-40 years old — well past their sell-by date.

“The government have been letting it run down in the belief that the markets are opening up and there will be a big rush of people into the market, but there has only been a few.”