|
Decisive action is needed to address major issues which will
have a critical effect on Irish energy supplies, the Engineers
Ireland Annual Conference was told by Dermot Byrne, Chief
Executive of EirGrid.
Speaking at the conference in Limerick, Mr Byrne said that
three major issues needed to be tackled -
- Ensuring security and diversity of fuels
- Constructing strategic national infrastructure to meet
the needs of the economy and consumers - and
- Putting in place the structures to ensure a level playing-field
for all competitors in the industry.
“We need to deal with the issue of long-term security and
diversity in our primary energy source. If we leave it to
a 'business-as-usual' scenario we will end up - in
2030 or thereabouts - with an over-reliance on imported natural
gas, with all of the uncertainties and price volatility that
goes with that” - said Mr Byrne.
He added that the issue of strategic infrastructure was a
major and urgent one. “As a country, we need to find a way
to construct critical and strategic infrastructure in a way
that strikes the right balance between the overall public
good and our national economic imperative, on the one hand
- and the concerns of individuals and stakeholders affected
by these developments, on the other.”
The third issue the EirGrid Chief Executive raised was ensuring
competition in the energy section. “We have to put in place
the necessary industry structures as a matter of urgency,
that give confidence to market participants (who collectively
will be investing well over €10 billion by 2020) that there
will be a level playing field and one that incentivises efficiency
and effectiveness in delivery.”
Fuel security
Mr Byrne said that, at some stages in the past year, 85 per
cent of the country’s electricity was being generated from
gas. Under present predictions, in 20 years time Ireland would
only have two sources of power – renewable energy and gas.
The EirGrid Chief Executive said he planned to hold discussions
with the Commission for Energy Regulation on the commissioning
of a detailed report into possible power generation options
for 2030 - taking into account both technical and socio-economic
feasibility, so that Ireland could have a structured and well-informed
debate.
Critical infrastructure
Mr Byrne said that the need for new electricity grid infrastructure
was now critical and urgent, to deal with growth in demand
from all customers, to assist the major growth in renewable
energy, to facilitate balanced regional development and to
provide supplies to new industries.
“Over the next 20 years, the overall demand for electricity
is projected to grow by about 70 to 80%. In an increasingly
competitive global arena, it is vital to put all parts of
Ireland in a position to support indigenous businesses and
to attract and retain inward investment.”
The EirGrid chief told the conference that it was vital to
structure the electricity sector to ensure that there was
fair access to everyone, transparency and a clear direction
in terms of incentives and regulatory certainty.
Competition and consumers
“The transmission assets, at the end of the day, are owned
by the people of Ireland. Government policy is to transfer
these assets to EirGrid - a state-owned company focused on
public service. This policy, already enshrined in the White
Paper, has widespread support with key stakeholders and commentators
- including the EU, the OECD, the International Energy Agency,
the Competition Authority and Forfás.
“I believe that our national transmission infrastructure
is too vital an asset to be left for the benefit of any one
interest group - or any one company which, itself, is competing
to supply and generate energy. The playing field has to be
level. If we can ensure a fair and level playing field and
real competition, the end result will be a more economic electricity
supply and increased renewable energy - and, I believe, a
much greater degree of innovation.”
|
