Vol. 449 No. 4
28 Mr. Molloy asked the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications the present position regarding the proposed reconnection of the electricity interconnector with Northern Ireland; the benefits to be derived from and the possible effect of an interconnector between mainland Britain and Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3750/95]
The North-South Electricity Interconnector was commissioned in 1970 but because of sabotage attacks it has been fully out of commission since 1975. However, as a result of the peace initiative the ESB and Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE) undertook a review of the situation and late last year the decision was taken to proceed with its restoration. Work on the restoration is at present in progress and the interconnector is expected to be back in commission next April. The total cost of restoration is estimated at £1.5 million. The estimated transmission capacity of the link is approximately 300 MW. A reliable interconnector between the two systems would result in revenue and capital savings for the ESB. Cost savings would arise from lower overall fuel costs of approximately £1 million per annum due to a reduced spinning reserve requirement. In the longer term, capital savings would accrue from the fact that there would be a smaller total generating capacity requirement. Some years of trouble-free operation would be required before the interconnector could be relied upon as an alternative to additional capacity. However, the spinning reserve savings would arise immediately.
I understand that the proposed Northern Ireland-Scotland electricity interconnection is currently the subject of public inquiries in Scotland and in Northern Ireland. Planning permission for the project has yet to be obtained and in the circumstances it would not be appropriate to make assumptions regarding possible future contracts. Theoretically such an interconnection would link the ESB with the greater UK and European interconnected grid and would provide opportunities for electricity trading. However, these opportunities would be limited by the size of the proposed Northern Ireland-Scotland interconnector which I understand will be approximately 250MW.
