EirGrid

Infobox_Company
company_name = EirGrid plc
company_
company_type = Public limited company - 100% of issued share capital held by Irish Government
company_slogan =
foundation = Registered as a company 7 February 2001, and was vested as transmission operator 1 July, 2006
location = Dublin, Ireland
key_people = Dermot Byrne, Chief Executive
Bernie Gray Chairperson
num_employees = approx. 200
industry = transmission/Electricity market operation
homepage = [http://www.eirgrid.com/ www.eirgrid.com]

EirGrid plc is the state-owned electric power transmission operator in the Republic of Ireland. It is a public limited company registered under the Companies Acts; 100% of its shares are held by the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources who appoints the board. It is one of the state-sponsored bodies of the Republic of Ireland and is regulated by the Commission for Energy Regulation.

History

EirGrid was established under Irish and European laws including the "European Communities (Internal Market in Electricity) Regulations, 2000". It took over operation of the National Power System on July 1, 2006. The Electricity Supply Board, which previously operated the national grid, has continued to hold ownership of the physical assets. Less than a year later on March 12 2007, a Government white paper on energy policy [ [http://www.dcmnr.gov.ie/Press+Releases/Dempsey+Outlines+A+New+Energy+Future+for+Ireland.htm Dempsey Outlines A New Energy Future for Ireland - Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources | An Roinn Cumarsáide, Mara agus í ] ] proposed transferring ownership of the transmission assets and passing them to EirGrid in order to encourage competition and benefit consumers. The transmission assets constitute 6,500km of overhead line and underground cable, as well as over 100 bulk substations. The system's significance for competition is that most large independent generators connect to the transmission system and utilise it to transport their power to all regions.

Role

EirGrid's primary purposes are the daily management of the Irish national grid, the operation of the wholesale power market, and the development of high voltage infrastructure to serve Ireland's economy. It is working with the regulator in line with Irish Government policy to develop a second interconnector to Northern Ireland and a 500MW East West Interconnector linking the Irish power system to Great Britain. EirGrid will own that interconnector after it is developed, under the Irish Government decision. EirGrid has its own separate board and is regulated by the Commission for Energy Regulation and its shares are held by the Irish government. EirGrid is responsible for balancing electricity consumption and generation, for the safe, secure and economical operation of the power system, and for the planning and development of the Irish power grid. EirGrid operates the wholesale power market and is cooperating with its counterpart in Northern Ireland, System Operator Northern Ireland (SONI), on the establishment of an All-Island wholesale electricity market. More information on the functions of EirGrid, along with graphs of electricity demand/wind generation output updated every 15 minutes, are available on its website [http://www.eirgrid.com www.eirgrid.com] .

On 22 August 2008, Eirgrid agreed to buy System Operator Northern Ireland from Viridian plc for approx £30m GBP, subject to regulatory approval. When the transaction is concluded the National Grid on the island of Ireland will be under the management of a single company for the first time. However, just as the ESB continues to own the physical assets in the Republic, Northern Ireland Electricity will continue to own the physical assets of the national grid in Northern Ireland. [http://www.rte.ie/business/2008/0822/eirgrid.html]

References

ee also

*Electricity Supply Board

External links

* [http://www.eirgrid.com Official site]