Paudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources what the micro-generators of renewable energy infrastructure, both domestic and commercial, may expect for price per KWH unit when exporting electricity to the national grid; the way this compares to other EU States; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10556/13]

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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Electric Ireland has been offering a 9c/kwh feed in tariff, on a commercial basis, to domestic microgenerators since February 2009. No other electricity supply company has to date chosen to enter the market and to offer a microgeneration feed-in-tariff on a commercial basis, although the Commission for Energy Regulation invited them to do so. No company has opted to offer, on a commercial basis, a feed-in-tariff for microgeneration to the commercial and industrial sectors. Previously, a joint ESB/Electric Ireland microgeneration support scheme for the domestic sector offering a total of 19c/kwh (comprising 10c/kwh from ESB Networks combined with the 9c/kwh from ESB Customer Supply (now Electric Ireland)) ran for 3 years (February 2009-February 2012) and had a take up of between 500 and 600 installations. The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) has been asked to provide my Department with analysis of other means through which the microgeneration sector could be supported, apart from through a feed-in-tariff funded from the Public Service Obligation. In 2009, the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) initiated a pilot microgeneration programme. This involved 42 installations of various microgeneration technologies. A final monitoring report on the performance of the installations and learning from the programme is awaited from SEAI. This will inform future policy development. In view of falling technology costs, the Department has also asked SEAI to update analysis on the costs of varying levels of support for microgeneration technologies, with a view to considering how the sector could be supported in the future.

Paudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the average lead time for the connection of new micro renewable generation infrastructure to the national electricity grid where there is an existing electrical connection to a business or domestic dwellings; the way that compares to other EU States; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10557/13]

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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My Department have been in contact with ESB Networks (ESBN) regarding micro renewable generation. When a micro-generator has been installed and ESBN have received payment for the import/export meter along with the necessary Electro-Technical Council of Ireland (ETCI) electrical certification, ESB Networks will install import/export metering. ESBN have informed us that the average connection time is 10 days approximately. There is no charge to connect a micro-generator to the Distribution Network provided it complies with EN50438. The draft European standard EN 50438 outlines the requirements for the connection of micro-generators in parallel with public low-voltage distribution networks and defines micro-generation as a source of electrical energy and all associated equipment designed to operate in parallel with the low voltage system, rated up to and including:

- 25A at low voltage[230V], when the network connection is single phase, or

- 16A at low voltage [230/400V], when the network connection is three phase.

After the meter has been installed the customer must contact their electricity supplier regarding payment arrangements for any electricity that is exported to the grid. The customer will need to have an agreement with their electricity supplier to purchase the electricity exported and to supply the electricity imported. Both import and export must be with the same supplier. The approach to supporting micro-generated electricity production in Ireland is not out of line with other EU States.