Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 1 July 2025

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage

Housing Delivery, Service and Supply: Discussion

2:00 am

Mr. Alan Rossiter:

The main substation in the Drogheda area is Drybridge. There was a very significant capital investment programme in it back in 2014. We changed from what were 31 MVA transformers up to 63 MVA ones. Over that time period that capacity is approaching full utilisation. We have a number of programmes under way to increase the capacity both in the long term and the short or medium term.

Long term, we have a new substation as part of our price review 6, PR6, submission on the Donore Road. That will add significant additional capacity to the whole Drogheda area. In the short term, we have carried out the reviews in the Drybridge and connected stations. Those reviews have been carried out. We are engaging both locally and with the transmission system operator to see what the feasibility is of either a third transformer or a higher rate of transformer capacity in that area. In the interim, there is no moratorium on houses. It is just the studies. Housing is having to come into our planning theme for detailed studies on how exactly we fit them into that network. I am aware of the ambition around the 7,000 units. In the Drogheda area last year, there were 624 units of apartment, housing scheme and one-off connections. For scale, that is a significant-----

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