Today, it is my great pleasure to officially open the National Grid’s new National Control Centre.
This highly impressive state of the art National Control Centre (NCC) is where the complex and crucial work of operating Ireland’s high voltage power system is carried out by the TSO. This new NCC facility I am pleased to note is an entirely new system which has been installed over the past two years and was delivered on-time and on-budget. It represents an investment of €11 million.
The NCC carries out the intricate task of seeking to match electricity production to customer demand. It does this in the most economical manner, consistent with safety, security, continuity, quality and environmental standards. Available generation must match customer demand on an instantaneous basis and our high-tech manufacturing firms need that security of supply in order to protect their sophisticated processes.
The work carried out by the Transmission System Operator (TSO) is of vital importance to the 1.8 million electricity customers in Ireland. Through lightning storms, gale force winds and heavy snows the TSO works to maintain supplies, in co-operation with other electricity workers around the country. This level of dedication and commitment is perhaps a contribution for which we do not give enough credit.
We all recall the wave of blackouts in Europe and North America in 2003. While no electricity power system can be fully protected from all eventualities, I am aware that the TSO has in place specific plans to deal with any incident quickly and effectively. Ireland has an exemplary record and thankfully, no system-wide outage has occurred in the Irish power system. The objective of the National Grid staff is to make sure that none ever happens.
Security of supply is of course a matter of critical importance to us. This is especially so given our heavy reliance on imported fuel and our isolated location on the margins of Europe. With the recent volatility in international markets for oil and other fuels and little sign as yet of abatement, effective management is critical in all aspects of the business of electricity supply. The National Control Centre plays an important role in maintaining overall system security.
When one adds into this mix the move to a fully liberalised market along with anticipated continued strong economic growth and environmental obligations, the importance around security of supply is even more apparent. Responsibility for security of supply, of course, now rests with the Energy Regulator (CER) assuming a key monitoring and oversight role, aided by the Transmission System Operator (TSO) and my Department working in close collaboration.
The major investment in our electricity networks is designed to bring the transmission and distribution system up to the required international standards and meet projected capacity demand.
Transmission bottlenecks must also be tackled. I welcome the collaborative approach now being taken by the TSOs on both parts of the Island in relation to developing further North/South electricity interconnectors and look forward to the day when network planning and operation will be done on an all-Island basis. The creation of an all-Island energy market should deliver benefits to all electricity customers.
The construction of new North/South interconnectors, for both gas and electricity, will have a positive role in terms of security of supply. In addition, the proposed East/West electricity interconnection will provide a strong physical link with mainland UK and beyond and assist in integrating Ireland into the wider European energy market.
Better management of demand and consumption is also important. Lowering demand not only helps security of supply but also protects the environment and reduces costs. It is an area in which Ireland has done well recently, particularly in the large industry sector, but I firmly believe we can achieve much more.
Obviously in a carbon constrained economy, the potential of renewable energy to augment security of supply has to be top of our agenda. This is a key area that I am determined to develop with the objective of maximising the economic potential this form of energy has to offer.
Security of supply is absolutely dependent on adequate generation and on capacity to meet demand. While we have had some success in attracting in new players to the generation market, many argue that until we address ESB dominance we will struggle to provide a meaningful competitive market.
It is imperative from the Government’s point of view that in order to make the proper key decisions about how our energy markets should develop in the future we need to have the fullest possible information available to us - hence my decision to undertake a fundamental and objective analysis of the entire electricity sector with particular emphasis on the dominance issue. I welcome the healthy interest shown by the prospective bidders who have tendered to undertake this study and my Department expects the decision on the successful consultants will be available by May next.
Finally, I wish to take this opportunity to speak about EirGrid and the Government’s priority to get the company up and running as a fully fledged operational entity with CER sanction as soon as possible.
I have kept in touch with the Company Chairman, Eddie O’Kelly together with ESB Chairman, Tadhg O’Donoghue and the senior management teams on the negotiations on the infrastructure agreement and transfer scheme have progressed in recent months.
With the appointment shortly of a new company CEO and the changes I made to the statutory regulations governing EirGrid establishment, all of the necessary components are falling into place. As shareholder on behalf of the Government, I expect the momentum of progress to be maintained and residual problems resolved during the summer.
Finally, I declare the NCC officially open and wish it well keeping the lights on.
Ends