Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)
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117. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources when the North-South electricity interconnector will be complete; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20226/13]

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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EirGrid and Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE) are jointly planning a second North South electricity interconnector which will provide a second high-capacity electricity transmission line between Ireland and Northern Ireland.

The proposed project is a 400kV overhead line linking the existing 400kV substation in Woodland, County Meath, with a planned substation in Turleenan, County Tyrone.

EirGrid has this month published a report which includes a re-evaluation of all aspects of the proposed development and which identifies a preferred corridor and an indicative line route for that part of the 400 kV overhead line to be located in Ireland. EirGrid is seeking feedback from concerned parties on the contents and the findings of this report over the coming weeks.

EirGrid will consider all feedback received before finalising its preferred project solution, which is expected to be published in the coming months. This in turn will be the subject of a further period of formal public consultation.

This consultation will focus on the preferred line design, including the line route, preferred structure and tower locations; methodology for siting and construction of towers; and environmental issues to be addressed in the Environmental Impact Statement.

The subsequent step after this consultation will be the submission of an application for planning approval to An Bord Pleanála, most likely at the end of this year or early 2014. Assuming the application is successful, I am informed by EirGrid that it is expected that construction will commence in 2015 and take at least three years to complete.