Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for raising the issue of the power outages in his area. I am taking this Commencement matter on behalf of the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan.

I also acknowledge the fact that we are dealing with areas of south Kildare, including Athy, Kildare, Monasterevin and Newbridge, and Portarlington in my area. I am conscious of that.As the Senator will know, the Commission for Regulation of Utilities - as an independent regulator which is accountable to a committee of the Oireachtas and not the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications - has been assigned responsibility for the electricity market. This includes the supervision of the electricity system operators EirGrid, responsible for transmission and ESB Networks, responsible for distribution, who are tasked with building, safely operating and maintaining the fit for purpose electrical system.

One area where this can be dealt with is through the Oireachtas committee because, by definition, the regulator is independent of the Minister and the Minister has no direct line of authority over the regulator. The Oireachtas committee, however, is where they answer to the House. It is important that avenue be followed up.

As I said, my colleague, the Minister for the environment, does not have a role in this area and it is carried out directly by EirGrid and ESB Networks or other infrastructure developers to particular sites, routes or technologies. Our electricity grid is made up of two interlinked networks. The first is the transmission network, which is organised by EirGrid and allows transport of electricity around the country. That is through the very big power lines we see covering the country. The second is the distribution network which is operated by ESB Networks which brings power to communities, businesses and people's homes.

In July 2023, EirGrid published Shaping Our Electricity Future in an update of the roadmap for the development of the transmission grid out to 2030 to deliver renewable energy and include the integration of offshore wind into the grid. Last year, ESB Networks launched its network for net zero strategy which outlines its commitment to future proofing Ireland's electricity network and making the goal of net zero by 2050 a reality. Work has commenced on price review six, which will see the CRU sanction the investment in the grid from the years 2026 to 2030 and, while a decision is not expected to be made until Q3 2025, the regulator published their strategy paper to inform and seek comments from the public on their approach to deciding the funding and investment over this five year period. The companies involved invest and then the regulator reviews it and agrees a price structure for the forthcoming period. The current price review five is in effect until the end of next year and saw the CRU sanction a €4 billion capital investment in the grid over the four year period 2021-2025.

The Senator has asked about the outages in his region and we all know about planned outages. These are normally carried out by EirGrid where there are new connections and lines to be brought in. People understand that and there is always good notice for those things weeks in advance. The second type is unplanned which can happen for a variety of reasons and I will come back to that in a moment. I share the Senator's concern regarding people on medical devices in their home who do not have backup power for their facilities when they are needed. That can cause difficulty from a medical point of view if the machine cuts out and they have to go back and start again having been half way through the process. It can also cause difficulty for people working from their home.