Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 36:

In page 18, after line 38, to insert the following:“Amendment of Schedule 1A of Electricity Regulation Act 1999

9. Schedule 1A to the Electricity Regulation Act 1999 is amended by the insertion of the following new paragraph after paragraph 17:

“18. The SEM Committee will be cognisant of ensuring regulatory alignment to protect the single electricity market and will report to the Minister on actions taken with relevant bodies in other jurisdictions and aim to maintain the single electricity market.”.”.

The amendment is straightforward and inserts a new paragraph regarding the single electricity market, SEM, committee. We consider this very important. It is the only area in the Bill that is truly all-Ireland. We have discussed many times the benefits of the all-Ireland economy and particularly the single electricity market which was established under the Electricity Regulation Act 1999. In a post-Brexit situation it is important that the single electricity market is maintained if the benefits are to continue for householders and businesses North and South and, indeed, for the environment.

The amendment seeks to amend the Electricity Regulation Act 1999. The SEM committee was established under this Act. It is an all-Ireland body, with representatives from the regulator in Belfast, appointed by the regulator in Belfast, and representatives from the regulator in Dublin, which oversees the functioning of the all-Ireland electricity market that has been in place for over a decade. Nobody would argue that it has not been a success story. It has been of great benefit for both the North and the South, but particularly for the North in terms of the supply of electricity.

The amendment provides that, in the event of a hard Brexit, the single electricity market committee, of which three members are appointed by the Minister, will deal with the new regulatory circumstances that will exist and will attempt to ensure regulatory alignment on the island. The new market rules for the integrated single electricity market, I-SEM, were launched last year. It is reported that they could cut energy bills for businesses and householders by up to €200 million per annum, which is what we all want to move towards given the economy of scale in terms of serving 6.6 million people. In order to ensure that we retain the single electricity market and all of the benefits it has brought to people, North and South, east and west, we believe this amendment is necessary. The Minister may say that this amendment is not necessary because the single electricity market committee comprises three people from the North. As the Minister will be aware, a lot of legislation is being passed here that is predicated on similar legislation being passed in Britain or by the Assembly, when up and running again, but we believe this needs to happen now in preparation for Brexit.

The Minister and I recently had a discussion in this Chamber on tariffs. He assured me then that the British Government would do the same as we proposed to do in regard to regulations relating to tariffs. Many of the actions we are taking are predicated on Britain taking corresponding actions from a legislative point of view. The intention of this proposal is to retain, maintain and strengthen the single electricity market.

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