Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 29 April 2025
312. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the engagements he has had with the ESB on upgrading the electricity infrastructure in Donegal and the north west cross-Border region to avail of the opportunities provided by onshore and offshore renewable energy. [20740/25]
View answerWhile I have not had engagements with ESB on upgrading the electricity infrastructure in Donegal and the north-west border region, I am aware that plans exist for upgrading the electricity infrastructure throughout the country including for the northwest region.
Building, safely operating and maintaining the electricity system are functions which are assigned to Distribution, ESB Networks, and Transmission, EirGrid, system operators and for which they are accountable to the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, as the independent regulator. The CRU was assigned responsibility for the regulation of the Irish electricity sector following the enactment of the Electricity Regulation Act, 1999 and subsequent legislation.
System operator investment in the grid is agreed with the CRU in five-year cycles, referred to as Price Reviews. The current Price Review, PR5, covers the period 2021-2025 and saw the CRU sanction over €4 billion investment in the grid. The CRU has commenced work on Price Review 6, which will see the CRU approve by year end the investment in the grid spanning the period 2026-2030. As part of the PR6 process, ESB Networks, as the owner of both the Transmission and Distribution systems, has requested of the CRU a base line investment of €10.1 billion, with the potential to grow to €13.4 billion over the PR6 cycle. This investment will assist in unlocking onshore and offshore renewable potential and start to deliver the building blocks upon which we will expand our onshore grid out to 2050.
Given the subject matter of this question, the Deputy should engage directly with ESB Networks and EirGrid in the first instance regarding their plans for the region. The CRU (oireachtas@cru.ie) , EirGrid (oireachtas@eirgrid.ie) and ESB (oireachtas@esb.ie) have contact email address for Deputies should they wish to raise matters of concern.
