EirGrid and ESB Networks could spend up to €19 billion over the next five years on boosting the Republic’s electricity system after their regulator approved the investment plans.
The State companies sought the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities’ (CRU) approval for investment in the national electricity grid and the lines that deliver power to homes and businesses earlier this year.
The commission will confirm on Tuesday that it will allow them spend up to €18.9 billion from 2026 to 2030 on preparing the system to supply 300,000 new homes, electrify public transport and take on electricity from offshore wind farms among other measures.
The regulator has set a baseline of €13.8 billion over the five-year period for both companies combined to spend, but will allow them to increase this to €18.9 billion if they meet agreed targets.
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Those will include new connections, reliability, security of supply, customer satisfaction and how vulnerable customers are treated.
Regulators will also monitor progress with 29 national grid priority projects.
Among those are the north-south interconnector and improvements to enable the system to transmit electricity from wind farms in the southwest to population centres where it is needed.
Both companies are already working on a significant number of projects covered by the spending plans.
If they reach the €13.8 billion target, that will add €1 per month to household electricity bills, said the commission.
That figure will rise to €1.75 a month if they manage to spend €18.9 billion, the CRU added.
The commission added most of the €1 a month to bills in October when it reviewed network charges, which account for around one third of domestic bills.
EirGrid is responsible for the national grid, which transmits electricity from power stations around the country, while ESB Networks owns the lines that distribute electricity to each customer.
Of the €13.8 billion, the CRU will allocate €11.4 billion to the networks company while EirGrid will get €2.4 billion.
The CRU’s decision is the result of a process called Price Review 6, through which the two companies, which are monopolies, get approval for investment and charges.
Commissioner Fergal Mulligan said the CRU’s role was to ensure that the companies spent customers’ money responsibly on vital services and building a “resilient and fit-for-purpose” electricity system.
“This investment is critical to expanding grid capacity and enabling electricity infrastructure projects to be funded and developed at pace,” he explained.
Mr Mulligan added that the regulator aimed to ensure that EirGrid and ESB Networks would complete projects quickly and efficiently and deliver value for money.
The two companies exceeded some targets set in the previous price review process, but fell short of others, particularly building new infrastructure.
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