EirGrid plans to construct almost 300 pylons in Meath, Cavan and Monaghan

An Bord Pleanála has given the green light to EirGrid's plans to build a new North-South electricity interconnector.

The interconnector is due to run from Batterstown in Meath, to Turleenan in Co Tyrone.

EirGrid's proposal to construct almost 300 pylons in Meath, Cavan and Monaghan was objected to by around 200 landowners on health and environment grounds.

The decision to grant approval, with conditions, follows a 12-week oral hearing into the development earlier this year.

Residents opposed to the plan were notified this morning.

The Chief Executive of Eirgrid has welcomed the decision by An Bord Pleanála, describing the interconnector as a "critical piece of national infrastructure".

Speaking on RTÉ News at One, Fintan Slye said he recognises that there are concerns and issues among landowners and community groups. He said that Eirgrid is committed to continuing to work with them to try and address their concerns.

Mr Slye said he expects a favourable decision on planning permission for the northern element of the project in the new year. He said that it has to go due process, but Eirgrid have put forward the most appropriate solution.

An Bord Pleanála inspector Breda Gannon approved planning permission for 299 pylons but set out nine conditions for the planning.

The inspector also noted the findings of the Health Service Executive that there should be no concern about the electromagnetic fields surrounding the pylons as long as the interconnector is properly monitored and operated in line with international standards.

Giving their reaction, the North East Pylon Pressure Campaign Committee said they were bitterly disappointed that their concerns over health and the environment were not taken into consideration.

Padráig Reilly from the committee said they still believed that the high voltage lines could go underground and EirGrid would now find itself in an impossible situation trying to negotiate with up to 200 landowners who are opposed to the interconnector.

Reacting to the decision, Taoiseach Enda Kenny said that An Bord Pleanála is independent in its views.

He said: "It is a completely independent board. We have an all island energy market and these kinds of facilities are important for the economy north and south.

"But it's not for me to adjudicate on the independence of An Bord Pleanála."

Mr Kenny said he understands that it will go for a judicial review which will also be independent in its determination.

Full artice: RTE Dec 21 2016

Govt Chief Whip supports 'civil disobedience' over interconnector decision

Regina Doherty, who represents the Meath East constituency, said that she is 'bitterly disappointed' by An Board Pleanála's decision

Government Chief Whip Regina Doherty has said she will support farmers and landowners if they engage in "civil disobedience" to hamper the decision by An Bord Pleanála to give the green light to EirGrid's plans to build a new North-South electricity interconnector.

In a statement to RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Ms Doherty said was "bitterly disappointed but not surprised" by the decision.

"I am particularly disappointed with the treatment by Eirgrid of the people of Cavan, Meath and Monaghan."

We are about to enter into a phase of civil disobedience to hamper the decision made by An Bord Pleanála and I fully support the farmers and landowners in that action.

Full Article: RTE Dec 22 2016

Article by by Michael Brennan, Sunday Business Post, August 23, 2015

Consumers and businesses are facing hikes in electricity charges at a time when the operators of the network are getting bonuses of up to 15 per cent.

The two companies responsible for the country’s electricity network are in line for spending increases of €1.8 billion over the next five years, bringing their total budgets to €5.2 billion.

This will increase the average electricity bill for a family by at least 5 per cent over the next five years. Businesses can expect similar increases in their electricity costs.

A significant proportion of the increases in network charges will go to fund new power lines being planned by the state-owned grid operator Eirgrid. Some €500 million, meanwhile, will be used to fund the rollout of smart electricity meters to two million households by ESB Networks, which maintains the network.

However, a report prepared for the Commission for Energy Regulation by consultants has criticised the bonus payments made to staff at Eirgrid. The consultants, Jacobs, found that Eirgrid had consistently paid bonuses of up to 15 per cent to its staff during the economic recession over the past five years.

The report said that it would have expected the payments to vary with “some achieving their targets and others failing”. But Eirgrid did not give any precise details of what the staff had done to earn this “performance-related pay”, and the report found that only 14 per cent of the biggest electricity projects were delivered on time over the past five years.

The Jacobs report states that between €6 million and €7 million of the money Eirgrid has paid out in bonuses was “inefficient”, and that their cost should not be passed on to electricity customers.

It showed that the highest individual bonus payments were to Eirgrid managers, who got 15.4 per cent in 2012. These managers are getting slightly lower performance-related payments of 14.1 per cent this year. There are also performance related payments for Eirgrid professionals (13.2 per cent), directors (10.2 per cent), and those in graduate or support grades(12.6 per cent). The average bonus payment this year is 13.1 per cent.

Eirgrid has applied to the regulator to continue paying bonus payments of up to 15 per cent to staff for the next five years. It said it did not make the payments to all staff, and that it was keeping all aspects of its business under review, including staff wages, “to ensure they are competitive and in line with market rates”.

The energy regulator is proposing annual increases in the two main electricity charges which fund Eirgrid and ESB Networks. Electricity distribution charges are paid to ESB Networks and account for 25 per cent of customers’ bills.

The proposed rises of 1.9 per cent per year up to 2020 are on top of inflation. Economist Stephen Kinsella has calculated that this equates to an 18 per cent increase in distribution charges over the next five years. He said this alone will increase the average electricity bill by almost 5 per cent over the period.

“Oil prices are collapsing and commodity prices are in the toilet. But the operators are hoovering up a bigger increase in the recovery for themselves,” he said.

The Commission for Energy Regulation has also proposed that the electricity transmission charges, which are paid to Eirgrid, will rise by 2.5 per cent per year up to 2020.

These charges have a smaller impact on households because they only account for 5 per cent of customers bills. The regulator has not released any figures on what the overall rise in electricity charges would cost consumers over the next five years.

A spokesman said the proposed impact this year would be a 1 per cent rise in electricity bills – which would add around €10 to an annual household bill.

“The actual outcome for customer prices depends, among other factors, on international fuel and related generation costs, which are currently circa 50 per cent of the overall cost of electricity to customers,” he said.

Eirgrid’s staffing costs went €16 million over budget over the past five years, with its 278 staff now paid an average salary of €97,000 each. It argued that it was using a “holistic approach” by increasing staff numbers and reducing the hiring of outside contractors.

It has to work with ESB Networks, which has 3,145 staff, to maintain the electricity network. They get an average salary of €80,000 and bonuses of up to 8 per cent. But the Jacobs report said there were signs that targets were “sufficiently robust”.

ESB Networks failed to deliver €10 million of efficiency savings that it had promised and is consistently missing its targets for maintaining the electricity network. The consultants said this consistent underperformance may lead to “an ongoing degradation of the health of the assets”.

ESB Networks said it was inappropriate to comment because the public consultation on the electricity charges was still ongoing. “We will participate in that consultation and look forward to conclusion of the process,” a spokesman said.