Mr. Cillian O'Donoghue:

From my side, there were kind of two questions. One was on nuclear and the second was on whether we need a massive reform of the energy market.

On nuclear, my association is source-neutral. It is not my job to sell nuclear. We all know the pros and cons. That is the decision for policymakers on the basis of engagement with society to make a decision on whether to go for nuclear or not.

Basically, it needs to be broken down. There are four sources of decarbonised electricity – nuclear, hydro, wind and solar. There are some other smaller sources, but those are the four main ones. I understand that, from an Irish perspective, the potential of hydro is quite limited. If nuclear is ruled out, that leaves wind and solar. If Ireland goes all out on wind, it will have to have a balancing storage strategy. It has to be safe. If Ireland goes all out on wind, how does it balance the intermittency? In that context, a good discussion is needed. Is it hydrogen, batteries, hydropower or gas? This is a discussion that needs to take place in Ireland. If Ireland rules out nuclear and goes all in on wind power, how will it balance the grid? That is an important discussion. I do not know how the discussion in this regard is progressing in Ireland, but it is important that members are aware of that.

Electricity markets generally work quite well. What we need going forward is perhaps an evolution rather than a revolution. The issue is the gas market, which is being manipulated. I do not think we should go for the electricity market when the problem is in the gas market. That is the root cause of the problem. There are a few things in the electricity market that will help going forward. We think consumers should be more active, meaning more prosumers, more demand response and more role for the consumer to be active. We think also long-term contracts, which are kind of linked to hedging, will mitigate the risk from short-term price spikes. Those are some changes we can integrate. There would be a review. Next year, the reform will take place. I would just flag, once again, that the electricity market works well. It is the gas market that is the problem and the contagion effect of the gas market on electricity is what is driving up prices.