Seán Power (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)

The intention was to make it attractive for other companies to enter the market and provide competition. To achieve that we had to provide a guarantee for new entrants. If ESB was allowed to compete on price in the early days of competition in the domestic market, it could seriously undermine the new market entrants. For that reason the new entrants had to be given some certainty about the future. It was important to give them an indication that it was a viable proposition.

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