Vol. 509 No. 6
180 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Public Enterprise if she has satisfied herself that there will be adequacy of power supplies and, in particular, electricity supply to meet the demand over the next ten years; if these needs have been quantified and, if so, the extent thereof; her policy in this regard; and the steps proposed to implement that policy. [21580/99]
While the ESB is currently responsible for the provision of adequate electricity capacity, the gradual liberalisation of the market is changing the situation. I am aware of several proposals for projects to build independent generating stations over the coming years. The Commission for Electricity Regulation will license suitable projects.
In October 1998 a report was published by the ESB, in consultation with my Department, entitled Generation Capacity Requirements to 2005. That report foresees a need for additional capacity arising in late 2001-early 2002, and a total of 800MW of generating capacity being needed in the period up to 2005. While there are projects in the pipeline by the ESB and others for the provision of this capacity, the ESB is successfully managing the increasing demand for electricity.
Section 38 of the Electricity Regulation Act, 1999, provides for the preparation by the ESB of an annual forecast statement covering both generation and transmission. This will be in a form to be approved by the Commission for Electricity Regulation. The forecast statement will cover seven years.
