Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 June 2015
819. Deputy Stephen S. Donnelly asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the status of plans to create a smart electricity grid, including enabling sell-back to the grid at the household level; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23152/15]
View answerThe combination of systems, infrastructure, policies and technologies that enables the traditional model of electricity supply to move towards a model where energy supply is optimised with demand for energy services, and maximises our use of indigenous renewable electricity, can be collectively called smart grid. A Smart Grid Working Group comprising representation from my Department, Eirgrid, the ESB, the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) and the development agencies has drawn up a Smart Grid Roadmap setting out how a smart grid can contribute to increasing the amount of renewable energy on the electricity system, improving our security of energy supply and meeting Ireland’s emissions reductions targets.
As a component of this, the planned national roll-out of smart meters, led by the CER, will enable electricity customers to manage their own consumption of electricity better.
Furthermore, EirGrid continues through its Grid 25 strategy and its "DS3" programme (Delivering a Secure, Sustainable Electricity System) to develop and operate the electricity network to meet the challenges of the deployment of increasing levels of renewable generation in order to maintain high quality, secure and competitive power supplies in line with best international practice, for the benefit of all electricity consumers.
Separately, analysis of the potential of microgeneration technologies has been carried out by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI). The SEAI's findings, along with responses to the recent consultation on the Green Paper on Energy Policy, will inform future policy on the provision of any market support for microgeneration, and will be taken into consideration in preparation of the Energy Policy White Paper which will be published in October.
Given the emerging policy context and the requirements of the EU internal market for electricity, my Department will be considering the appropriateness of a new support scheme for renewable electricity, from 2016 onwards. A key component of this will be consideration of the technologies that could be supported, such as microgeneration. The scheme will be subject to State Aid clearance and the initial public consultation on a new scheme will commence in the coming weeks.
