Ahern approves €185m electricity link

A NEW €185 million electricity interconnector between Ireland and Wales has been given the go-ahead by the government. It aims to increase competition leading to price cuts in the Irish market and will be ready in six years.

The subsea cable will allow Ireland to import electricity from Britain to top up the national supply at times of shortfall.

Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources Dermot Ahern gave his support for the project yesterday. Next a feasibility study will be undertaken.

A private partner is likely to be sought to construct the interconnector, setting it up as a public-private partnership (PPP).

A number of companies are understood to have expressed an interest in getting involved.

There is already a North/South interconnector over the border and the long-term plan for electricity distribution is to have an all-Ireland energy market with cables running North and South.

If the PPP route is taken, an open tendering process, advertised in the EU journal would have to be undertaken.

By building an interconnector, the government would circumvent the expense and time involved in building another power generator.

Minister Ahern has received a report into the project from the Commission for Energy Regulation undertaken by outside consultants.

The report backs the interconnector pointing to the benefits of deferring investment in power generation, sharing operating reserve at off-peak times and saving in fuel costs through trading electricity between systems.

An interconnector would increase competition and security of supply and enhance the liberalisation process in Ireland, the minister said.

The CER report was undertaken by DKM Economic Consultants with assistance from the Economic Social Research Institute.

The study’s objective was to assess the overall economic merits of East-West interconnection from the perspective of the long-term interests of the Irish consumer.

In addition to the interconnector, the ESB plans to invest €4 billion in the Irish network between 2002 and 2007 to increase transmission capacity.