Robert Molloy
Question:272 Mr. Molloy asked the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications the reason for the delay in proceeding with the construction of the proposed 120 megawatt peat-fired station. [3871/97]
Written Answers. - Peat Fired Power Station.
When the Government approved the provision of a new 120MW peat fired power station in the east midlands, it decided that the project should be implemented by an open competition to build, own and operate the new station. It had been envisaged that the ESB power procurer would run the competition for the new peat power station. In view of the ESB's wish to bid for the power station, every effort was made to find fair and transparent arrangements which would allow the ESB to bid and which would also have ensured the confidence of other bidders.
Detailed legal advice was sought concerning the arrangements proposed for the competition. In spite of the best efforts to find a mechanism within the context of the ESB running the competition, legal advice indicated that independent experts should be employed to run the competition. The recruitment of consultants was conducted by competition under the EU procurement rules. This is a complex consultancy assignment, covering a range of areas of expertise, with an overriding requirement for the consultants to carry out the assignment in an efficient and independent manner and for this reason the process took some time. The consultants have been charged with the task of designing a framework for the competition and running the competition process itself. They have been working on the project for the last few months and have almost completed their consideration of the framework for the competition. Some further work is required on completing the project documentation and, allowing for that, I expect that the competition will be formally announced by the end of March.