Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 30 January 2024

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action

General Oversight of EirGrid: Discussion

Mr. Mark Foley:

If I may add a little bit, and this might be slightly controversial, there is an argument, which we are starting to support, that matters to do with the Irish power system and the procurement of capacity should, in fact, be exclusively under the jurisdiction of the CRU. That it is under the joint regulatory authority for the island is, in my view, creating a conflict. While Northern Ireland does not have a problem at this point, Ireland has an acute problem. The evidence would suggest the decisions being made by the joint committee are not in the interests of Ireland, and the most recent auction proves that point. The fact the Government introduced legislation and provided capital for EirGrid to buy generations proves the point. Our view is we need to take this into a jurisdictional dimension and CRU needs to appropriately frame those auctions to see Ireland through the energy transition. The current insurance policy, if I may use that simple term, that we bought in using temporary generation will run out in three to four years time-----