Mr. Garrett Blaney:

I am sorry if I have caused any confusion. The issue raised by the expert commission related to distance. It is possible to put short stretches of AC underground. There are numerous examples of that in the electricity system. The problem arises when undergrounding is done over a long distance. Technical problems arise with the cable and it is not possible to operate it. All I am doing is sharing with the Deputy the view of the expert commission as published in its report. The view of the commission was that it would be three times the cost. PB Power had a higher figure than that. I suppose we are limited in our technical expertise. I am relaying figures that are out there in the public domain from technical experts. Clearly, it is possible to put short elements of cable underground. The cost of that is much less than the cost of the HVDC solution. It is a matter for the planning authorities. It is under planning at the moment. I would really relay it to that.

I wish to come back to the Deputy's important question about the excess capacity in the system at present. The various investments that have been made are set out in the table. The market has been good for investment. The unprecedented downturn in the economy here in the Republic had a direct impact on demand. There is a close correlation between the level of economic activity in a country and the level of demand for electricity. We had seen a reduction of approximately 10% since the peak in 2007 or 2008, but we are now seeing a turnaround. The increase in economic activity is having a positive impact on future demand growth. As I mentioned earlier, some large new demand sources, such as data centres, are coming in. Obviously, we want to make sure the country is ready to bring in new foreign direct investment and we have the infrastructure to underpin that.

An interesting debate about decarbonisation is taking place internationally. The extent to which we should move away from fossil fuels and move towards the use of electricity for electric vehicles and heating in the home, etc., is difficult to assess. There is more uncertainty about future demand today than there was historically. We need to make sure we do not find ourselves back in the difficult situation we were in ten years ago, when we were fighting year-on-year to make sure we had enough capacity to keep the lights on here in the Republic. I think we should have some comfort that there is extra capacity there. We will constantly be looking for opportunities to see how that extra capacity can result in lower costs to consumers. Today, a lower cost is associated with having that extra capacity than with not having it. This was part of the design criteria for the integrated single electricity market. In that context, we will look to see whether we can seek further efficiencies in the market. As the Deputy has rightly said, many consumers are still facing very difficult times as they try to pay their bills. As regulators, we are conscious that we need to ensure the costs that are imposed on every electricity consumer in the country are kept as low as possible.