Dáil debates

Thursday, 11 April 2019

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate

Electricity Generation

5:30 pm

Photo of Richard BrutonRichard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will try to summarise what was a rather long-winded reply. ESB has plans to replace coal burning with alternative generation, but it is in a marketplace with many other players competing for generation capacity in what is a rapidly growing generation market.

The market framework is now becoming clearer and, as I said in the reply, includes the sorts of options ESB is considering. It includes combined cycle gas, gas peaking plants, battery technology, wind capacity and so on. The option framework covers the options ESB is considering. At this stage for commercial reasons it cannot commit to any one position; it will not outline a track that would give its competitors an advantage. I admit that is not an ideal situation.

I will further explore what certainty we can seek to give to workers. As the Deputy rightly said, a large part of the Oireachtas work is to talk about the transition and supporting people in that transition. I am conscious of the balancing required, with a company competing with others trying to develop a strategy while at the same time communicating with it in a way that people can plan ahead. I will explore this further to see if we can get greater clarity. I am very conscious of the constraints within which ESB is working as one of a number of competitors for the opportunity to provide additional generation. As the Deputy rightly said, it has, in Moneypoint, a very valuable asset and one I will seek to visit. That asset clearly has significant value not just for ESB but for the entire grid system.

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