Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Tuesday, 10 July 2018
Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment
Petroleum and Other Minerals Development (Amendment) (Climate Emergency Measures) Bill 2018: Discussion (Resumed)
11:00 am
Mr. Denis O'Sullivan:
In terms of energy security, there is the physical security of the network and its capability to provide the required amount of gas. In that regard it is extremely secure. In fact, that is what we continue to work on, and in the network development plan we publish every year we give an update on the activity we do to enhance the security of the network. One of the activities under way is the twinning of the last section of pipeline in Scotland. There is a single point of failure in Scotland and we are twinning that pipe to ensure that if one pipe fails there is an alternative. However, that will not solve some of the issues raised about the potential political impacts that could affect the supply of gas. The Moffat entry point, or the interconnector, is still a single point of entry from an economic point of view, but from a technical point of view we are confident it is secure. We are not involved in the procurement of the gas. Our role is to transport it. It is brought to our network and we take responsibility for transporting it and providing it to the customers on behalf of the shippers. The shippers are the people who need to deal with the question on the economic security of the supply of gas.