Electricity Grid

15. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if he will report on updates to Ireland grid as part of PR6; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65910/26]

I thank the Deputy. The system operators, EirGrid and ESB Networks, are charged with responsibility for upgrading our electricity system, including planning and constructing new investments in the grid. They are accountable to the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU, in that regard. However, investing in and ensuring a fit for purpose electricity grid is an absolute priority for me and the Government. I regularly meet with ESB Networks and with EirGrid - I am meeting with EirGrid later today on its work as well. I meet EirGrid and ESB Networks together every month, specifically on PR 6 and the work programme. In July, I was very pleased to open ESB Networks' new Bracklone 110 kV substation in Laois. That was the first one of those delivered under the PR 6 programme. There was really good work done. There was also the North-South interconnector, the Moneypoint 400 kV series capacitor and the Letterkenny 100 kV line redevelopment, which are covered under the Critical Infrastructure Act. We saw Moneypoint come through pretty much straight away after that. The system operators are waiting for confirmation from local authorities on planning conditions for the North-South interconnector. Monaghan County Council is the lead local authority. I hope it discharges its consent without any further delay. The Moneypoint capacitor has now received full consent. That grid investment programme is unprecedented and worth up to €18.9 billion - it is really critical. When you break down the 520 projects, it is really down to 29 transmission projects and 32 distribution projects. Ten of these transmission projects are already under construction. That is really good. One of the priority distribution projects is already completed and three further projects are in construction. I meet with them every single month to go through the list of the main projects to make sure timelines are not slipping, to identify any risks that are there and to keep the pressure on. I thank ESB Networks and EirGrid for all they are doing.

I thank the Minister for the reply. We saw the Central Bank report yesterday and its concerns that the connection for essential infrastructure like energy and water are clear barriers to the delivery of essential housing, particularly social and affordable housing, and it takes up to four years now. We also saw the impacts of Storm Éowyn, which I saw in my own constituency. Apart from the impact on the grid, there was also flooding in the Listowel area. The Minister mentioned some of the projects that are under way, such as the 29 projects and ten under construction. What are the delivery timelines for them and when does the Minister expect they will be completed? If we look at some other countries, particularly Denmark, they do not really have an energy crisis. They are totally resilient. The infrastructure is in place there and they are almost completely energy independent. Could the Minister give me some insight into the timelines?

It is important there is visibility across the projects and there is. I have no difficulty in getting that information to the Deputy but the operators make public that detailed information on the progress of investments, and rightly so. In December, CRU published the transmission baseline programme, which sets out all of the transmission projects in PR 6, along with the associated delivery milestones. EirGrid publishes updates in respect of delivery against these milestones every quarter. They are available on their website. It is rightly made public. We are not saying every single project will be delivered on time under this massive programme but I have asked it to really identify and focus on the most critical projects under PR 6. I meet them every month together and I am meeting EirGrid again today. Above all else, this provides that resilience for the grid, allows us to increase our capacity, get more renewables into our system and provide more storage - we are third in Europe for long duration battery storage but we still need more. This is the absolute focus of what we do and the real priority area for us.

The Minister says he meets them regularly. Is he saying the delivery of the projects are all up to date and on time?

No. I said I meet them regularly.

There is an elasticity there.

I have two questions arising from what the Minister said. How far behind are some of the projects or what projects concern the Minister? What steps are being taken to get them up to speed? Second, on grid prioritisation, what is the Minister's view on that and will he support the legislation we brought forward yesterday?

On the projects that are outlined, from the detail I get as to where they are, a lot of them have already commenced and that is good. There is not major slippage within it. We will get the Deputy some details on that. Not every milestone in every project will be hit but I want the majority of them hit. Already, I have given the example of Bracklone in Laois, which was delivered ahead of time and on budget. We really need to get the North-South interconnector started. That is why it is so important that consent is discharged by the lead local authority. I met representatives from Monaghan, Cavan and Meath over the summer. They were the three local authorities. That needs to start. Above all else, if I were to pick one project that needs to happen it is the Noth-South one. We will look at the Deputy's Bill, which was only published yesterday. I am happy to see what is in it. We will review it and I will come back to him.