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48-580: Beginning in the early 2000s Ireland's state owned public utilities underwent a major reform, following the creation of the Commission for Energy Regulation . This was part of an effort at both Irish and European level to open up electricity and gas markets and end national monopolies through the separation of customer supply and transmission within public utilities. Bord Gáis Éireann was therefore obliged to open up to competition and allow other firms access to their gas network. As part of this effort Bord Gáis Éireann

96-556: A TT network connection is used, the entire supply must be protected by an RCD Converting a TT supply to a TN-C supply "neutralisation" may only be carried out by an ESB engineer with the approval of ESB Networks. Under no circumstances should a homeowner, or an electrical contractor make any connection between the Earth/Ground and Neutral. To do so inappropriately could expose people to a risk of serious shock or electrocution. German Schuko socket outlets were once widely used alongside

144-511: A million domestic customers. It continues to regulate the revenue earned and tariffs charged by Bord Gáis Energy Supply to domestic customers and works to resolve complaints that customers have with energy companies. The CRU is the independent economic regulator for public water and wastewater services in Ireland. In the consultation process leading up to the introduction of water charges in Ireland ,

192-1012: A mixture of British (BS) and German (VDE) & (DIN) standards. Siemens standard Diazed and the more modern Neozed fuses remain the standard type of fuse used in domestic and industrial installations and modern circuit breakers comply with German DIN standards. British core colours red (live), black (neutral) and green (earth/ground) were used. These were later updated to brown (live), blue (neutral) and green-and-yellow (earth/ground) as per CENELEC and European standards. Three-phase core colours also comply with EU standards: brown (L1), black (L2), grey (L3), blue (neutral), green & yellow (earth/ground) British wiring accessories have generally been used in residential and light commercial installations e.g. junction boxes, light switches, wires and cables etc. However, in recent years European standard wiring accessories are beginning to replace some of these. In industrial installations, Irish standards have always tended to follow German (DIN) and (VDE) norms. Where

240-567: A socket outlet and tourists should not use adaptors to connect to them if they are present in hotel bedrooms. They are exclusively for lighting or specialist purposes. Industrial, heavy commercial and stage/studio installations use European standard IS EN 60309:1999 / IEC 60309 plugs and sockets. These are also used for stage and studio lighting, in recent preference to BS 546 15-amp fittings. The distribution board system used in Irish homes also differs substantially from those used in

288-674: Is a private limited company that is part of the Centrica Group and no longer associated in any way with Ervia or any of its subsidiaries (Irish Water or Gas Networks Ireland). BGE has a number of sponsorship programmes including the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre , Bord Gáis Energy Book Club and Irish Book Awards , Bord Gáis Energy Student Theatre Awards and the Bord Gáis Energy GAA U21 All Ireland U21 Hurling Championship. Bord Gáis Energy

336-720: Is located in County Offaly. The two stations have been replaced by new peat-fired stations near the same locations, and peat is also used to power the independent Edenderry Power plant, in County Offaly. As in most countries, energy consumption is low at night and high during the day. Aware of the substantial waste of night-time capacity, the ESB commissioned the Turlough Hill pumped storage hydro-electric station in 1968. This station, located in County Wicklow , pumps water uphill at night with

384-553: Is permissible. Therefore, a new independent subsidiary, Gaslink, has been established to fulfil the functions of the Irish TSO and DSO and will gradually take over much of the operations of gas Networks Ireland. On 18 February 2009, Bord Gáis Energy entered the residential market, joining Airtricity and ESB Customer Supply. The market was deregulated in 2007. A condition of the EU/IMF bailout programme for Ireland signed in 2010 required

432-489: Is predominantly a supply company, but also offer a range of gas boiler maintenance services to customers. Commission for Energy Regulation The Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU, Irish : An Coimisiúin um Rialáil Fóntais ), formerly known as the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER, Irish : An Coimisiún um Rialáil Fuinnimh ), is Ireland 's energy and water economic utility regulator. The CRU licenses and monitors electricity generators . On

480-651: Is required for all socket outlets since 1981, however it may also be present on older installations. Homes are typically wired as follows: Bayonet mount bulbs are used in most standard fittings and have been the dominant standard in most installations since the introduction of electric lighting in Ireland. Various styles of bayonet cap and mounts are used for a variety of sizes and types of bulbs, including spots and halogens. Edison screw fittings are not as common, but may be found on some imported lighting equipment, particularly from southern Europe. Low voltage halogen bulbs use bipin fittings. Standards are controlled by

528-482: Is responsible for the company's unregulated activities, principally providing electrical engineering consultancy services around the world. It has holdings in many areas, such as power-generation joint ventures, renewables development, and computing consultancy. Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE) is responsible for the operation and maintenance of the electricity network in Northern Ireland , and has been part of

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576-705: The North Wall station on a 7.5-acre (30,000 m ) site in Dublin's industrial port area on the north side of the River Liffey on the site of an old oil refinery. The original station consisted of one 12.5 MW steam turbine that was originally purchased for a power station at Portarlington but instead used at North Wall . Other power stations built around this time included the peat fired stations at Portarlington , County Laois , and Allenwood in County Kildare . Because of

624-512: The natural gas network in Ireland to the required safety standards. Gaslink is currently the TSO and DSO for gas. The CRU sets the allowed revenue/tariffs and connection policy for the gas transmission and distribution network (similar to electricity). It licenses and monitors gas suppliers. Since 1 July 2007, Ireland's retail gas market has been open to competition, and all gas customers are eligible to switch their gas suppliers. This represents over half

672-439: The transmission network , generally, the high voltage lines deliver electricity from Ireland's generation sources to the transformer stations , where the electricity voltage is reduced and taken onwards through the distribution system to individual customers' premises. There are also about 18 very large commercial customers directly connected to the transmission system. EirGrid is the independent state-owned body licensed by

720-565: The British standard BS546 round pin plugs (both 3-pin and 2-pin varieties). However, both of these systems were replaced by BS 1363 , standardised as Irish Standard IS 401 (Plug) and IS411 (Socket outlet). This standard eliminated incompatibilities between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland and was chosen as it was completely incompatible with both the old Schuko or BS 546 installations and encouraged people to rewire their homes to comply with

768-579: The CER and its main shareholder, the Irish government. It was established as the operator of the Irish transmission system with ownership remaining with ESB Networks. On 12 March 2007, the Irish Government Policy on Energy stated that ownership of the transmission system would be vested in EirGrid from end 2008. EirGrid is responsible for balancing electricity consumption and generation and for the development of

816-459: The CRU has proposed that Irish Water provide two products and one service, with each household receiving a maximum of one product (either "Water" or "Not for Human Consumption Water") at a time. It is proposed that the wastewater service be charged per unit product consumed. ESB Networks The Electricity Supply Board ( ESB ; Irish : Bord Soláthair an Leictreachais ) is a state owned (95%;

864-408: The CRU to act as transmission system operator (TSO) and is responsible for the operation, development, and maintenance. The TSO also offers terms and levies charged to market participants to connect to and use the transmission system regulated by the CRU. ESB Networks is licensed by the CRU as the owner of the transmission system and is responsible for carrying out the maintenance and construction of

912-533: The ESB Group) is the Distribution System Operator licensed by the CRU, responsible for building, maintaining, and operating the distribution network infrastructure. The Distribution Network is owned by ESB, the licensed Distribution Asset Owner. The CER sets the allowed revenue/tariffs for the distribution business and approves the connection policy for generators and suppliers connecting to and/or using

960-423: The ESB announced a €22bn capital investment programme in renewable energy technology, with the aim to halve its carbon emissions within 12 years and achieve carbon net-zero by 2035. On 1 July 2006, a new state owned company, EirGrid plc, separate from all parties in the Irish electricity sector, took over responsibility for the operation of the Irish national grid. It has its own separate board and it reports to

1008-550: The ESB since they purchased it from Viridian in December 2010. However, the ESB does not own the former supply business of NIE, which was retained by Viridian. The ESB was established by the fledgling Irish Free State government under the Electricity (Supply) Act, 1927 to manage Ireland's electricity supply after the successful Shannon Scheme at Ardnacrusha . The scheme was Ireland's first large-scale electricity plant – and at

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1056-604: The ElectroTechnical Council of Ireland (ETCI) and the National Standards Authority of Ireland. The ESB is one of the largest companies in Ireland and employs around 7,000 people. It is 5% owned by its workers – this ownership is known as ESB ESOP (Employee Share Ownership Plan) Trustee Limited . The company is heavily unionised with the IWU (Independent Workers Union) being the largest Network Technician union in

1104-426: The Irish government to sell off some state-owned assets to help pay down loans and reduce Ireland's debt burden. In February 2012 the Irish government announced it would sell Bord Gáis Energy as required under the bailout terms. In March 2014 Bord Gáis Éireann confirmed it would sell its customer supply arm Bord Gáis Energy to a consortium made up of Centrica , Brookfield Renewable Energy and iCON Infrastructure to

1152-531: The Irish market, although they were prohibited on appliances destined for the United Kingdom market. Both countries now require the pre-fitting of BS 1363 plugs on domestic appliances. It is now extremely rare to find a non-BS 1363 plug in use. The 5-amp version of BS 546 is sometimes used for lamps controlled by a central switch or dimmer. They may also be used for other specialist purposes. It is, therefore, not advisable to connect an appliance to such

1200-700: The Regulatory Authorities or RAs, have jointly regulated the all-Island wholesale electricity market known as the Single Electricity Market (SEM). The SEM covers both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The decision-making body that governs the market is the SEM Committee, consisting of the CRU, the Utility Regulator, as well as an independent member (who also has a deputy), with each entity having one vote. The detailed rules of

1248-568: The SEM are set out in the Trading and Settlement Code, which is overseen by the SEM Committee. At a high level, the SEM includes a centralized gross pool (or spot) market, which, given its mandatory nature for key generators and suppliers, is fully liquid. In this pool, electricity is bought and sold through a market-clearing mechanism. Generators bid in the Short Run Marginal Cost (SRMC) and receive

1296-605: The System Marginal Price (SMP) for each trading period their scheduled market quantities. Generators also receive separate payments for the provision of available generation capacity through a capacity payment mechanism and constraint payments for differences between the market schedule and the system dispatch. Suppliers purchasing energy from the pool pay the SMP for each trading period along with capacity costs and system charges. There are two types of gas pipelines operating around

1344-613: The UK and elsewhere. All distribution boards (fuse boxes) are required to have a 'main fuse' or 'main breaker' rated at the maximum permissible load for that installation. Typically, this is a 63 A fuse (Compared with 80 or 100 amps typically found in the UK) and a switch, or a Minized fuse isolator which accepts a Neozed fuse. The distribution boards have been using DIN rail modular mounting systems for several decades. Even older fuse systems may be mounted on DIN rails . 30 mA RCD protection

1392-543: The capacity to generate 590 MW of power, depending on wind conditions. These wind farms are mainly owned by independent companies and landowners. On 16 March 2005, the ESB announced that it was to sell its ShopElectric ( ESB Retail ) chain of shops, with the exception of the Dublin Fleet Street and Cork Academy Street outlets, to Bank of Scotland (Ireland) , converting them into main street banks. Existing staff were offered positions as bank tellers. On 27 March 2008,

1440-406: The company and its impact on Irish life . On 8 September 2003, two of the last remaining places in Ireland unconnected to the national grid – Inishturbot and Inishturk islands (off the coast of Galway )- were finally connected to the mains supply. Some islands are still powered by small diesel-run power stations. 60 wind farms are currently connected to the power system (July 2006) and have

1488-469: The company, and the Energy Services Union devoted to representing more senior staff at the organisation. The last major strike was in 1991, though strike action has been threatened as recently as February 2005 and often at times of industrial dispute. National surveys show, in line with other similar semi-state sector workers, that wages are above the national average – one recent survey showed that

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1536-615: The country's two largest power stations – Poolbeg in 1971 and Moneypoint in 1979. The latter, in County Clare , remains Ireland's only coal-burning plant and can produce 915 MW – just shy of the 1015 MW capacity of Poolbeg. In 2002 and 2003, new independent stations were constructed – Huntstown Power (north Dublin) and Dublin Bay Power ( Ringsend , Dublin). In 1991, the ESB established the ESB Archive to store historical documents relating to

1584-481: The country. The larger pipes that transport gas long distances are known as transmission pipes, and the smaller pipes which bring gas from the transmission pipes to individual premises are known as distribution pipes. Ervia , formerly Bord Gáis Éireann (BGE), owns the transmission and distribution systems in the Republic of Ireland. Bord Gáis Networks (BGN) is the designated subsidiary within Ervia which constructs and extends

1632-491: The domestic market. Since 4 April 2011 the Commission for Energy Regulation no longer sets the company's prices; the trade-off for this was that the division was required to change its name from ESB to Electric Ireland, to "remove confusion" between the ESB's role as operator of the electricity network and a supplier in that market. The previous name, ESB Independent Energy, was dropped in January 2012. ESB International Limited

1680-477: The end price regulation milestones. All business markets were deregulated from 1 October 2010. Since April 2011, the domestic market has been deregulated so that all electricity suppliers may set their tariffs without price regulation from the CRU. Since 1 November 2007, the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, (known then as the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER)) and Utility Regulator, together referred to as

1728-412: The excess energy created by other stations, and releases it downhill during the day to turn turbines. The plant can generate up to 292 MW of power – but output is limited in terms of hours because of the storage capacity of the reservoir. The 1970s brought about a continued increase in Ireland's industrialisation and with it, a greater demand for energy. This new demand was to be met by the construction of

1776-505: The network. The CRU licenses and monitors electricity suppliers. The CRU has overseen the gradual liberalization of the electricity supply market, culminating in a full market opening in February 2005. The regulatory framework created the right environment for competition to develop, and since then, competition has increased in the business and domestic markets. As a result, in 2010, the CRU published its Roadmap to Deregulation , which set out

1824-576: The new government pushed the idea of Rural Electrification . Between 1946 and 1979, the ESB connected in excess of 420,000 customers in rural Ireland. The Rural Electrification Scheme has been described as "the Quiet Revolution" because of the major socio-economic change it brought about. The process was greatly helped in 1955 by the Electricity Supply Amendment Act, 1955. In 1947, the ESB, needing ever more generation capacity, built

1872-458: The new standard. It removed the possibility of connecting Class I (requiring an earth connection) appliances, to socket outlets that are either unearthed (ungrounded) or with incompatible earthing contacts – e.g. 2-pin side-earthed Schuko plug will not make earth contact with a 3-hole, 5-amp BS 546 socket. Until UK and Irish voltages were standardised at 230 volts in the 1990s, it was common for such plugs to be pre-fitted on appliances destined for

1920-474: The power transmission system. Eirgrid, in conjunction with System Operator Northern Ireland , operates the all-island wholesale electricity market. Tarbert and Great Island were sold to Endesa in 2008 under the asset-divestment strategy agreed with the CER. This aims to lessen ESB GWM's market dominant position. The ESB also has significant holdings in wind generation, principally through its wholly owned subsidiary, Hibernian Wind Power . The Shannon Scheme

1968-489: The principal companies are: ESB Networks Limited manages construction and maintenance of the electricity transmission system. (The transmission system operator is an independent state company, EirGrid ). ESB Generation and Wholesale Markets (ESB GWM) operates a portfolio of power stations across the country, along with holdings in wind and other renewables. Electric Ireland is a regulated supply company, one of fourteen companies (as of 10 October 2021 ) operating in

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2016-427: The rest are owned by employees ) electricity company based in Ireland with operations worldwide. While historically a monopoly, the ESB now operates as a commercial semi-state concern in a "liberalised" and competitive market. It is a statutory corporation whose members are appointed by the government of Ireland . The ESB is composed of several distinct, separate and legally demarcated companies. By business area,

2064-528: The risks of becoming dependent on imported fuel sources and the potential for harvesting and utilising indigenous peat, the ESB – in partnership with Bord na Móna – established those stations and ESB also built Lanesboro power station in 1958. Located in County Longford , the plant burns peat , cut by Bord na Móna in the bogs of the Irish midlands. In 1965 the Shannonbridge station was commissioned. It

2112-557: The system. The CRU sets the allowed revenue/tariffs for the transmission business and approves the connection policy for generators and suppliers connecting to and/or using the network. The Distribution Network is the medium and low voltage electricity network used to deliver electricity to connection points such as houses, offices, shops, and street lights. The Distribution Network includes all overhead electricity lines, poles, and underground cables used to bring power to Ireland's customers. ESB Networks (a ring-fenced subsidiary within

2160-1072: The time, it provided 80% of the total energy demands of Ireland. To give an idea of the growth in demand, the output of Ardnacrusha is now approximately two per cent of national peak demand for power. By 1937, plans were being finalised for the construction of several more hydro-electric plants. The plans called for stations at Poulaphouca , Golden Falls , Leixlip (all in Leinster ), Clady , Cliff and Cathaleen's Fall (between Belleek and Ballyshannon in County Donegal ), Carrigadrohid and Inniscarra (in County Cork ). All these new plants were completed by 1949, and together harnessed approximately 75% of Ireland's inland water power potential. Many of these plants are still in operation; however, as could be expected with continuing growth in demand, their combined capacity falls far short of Ireland's modern needs. With Ireland's towns and cities benefiting from electricity,

2208-404: The value of €1.1 billion. The sale involved the splitting of the group's retail unit among the three buyers. The main retail division would be bought by Centrica, while its wind assets under SWS would be acquired by Brookfield Renewable Energy Partners and iCON infrastructure acquiring Northern Ireland based Firmus Energy . Bord Gáis Éireann was subsequently renamed Ervia . Today Bord Gáis Energy

2256-470: Was split into two main business streams Transmission and Distribution and Energy Supply. The Gas Directive requires that, in the case of vertically integrated utilities such as Bord Gáis, the Transmission System Operator (TSO) and the Distribution System Operator (DSO) functions to be legally and functionally unbundled from activities not related to these functions, although a combined DSO/TSO

2304-493: Was the start of the ESB's heavy reliance on German and Swedish electro-technology. Siemens , AEG and ASEA (Now ABB ) equipment was used throughout the Irish generation and distribution system. The Irish system standardised on the 220 volt 50  Hz (now 230 volt) single phase and 380  volt (now 400 volt) three-phase supply systems which had been developed by Siemens and AEG in Germany. Residential installations followed

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