Ireland’s Commission for the Regulation of Utilities’ latest price review will enable an investment of almost €19bn in the country’s energy infrastructure.
Price Review 6, published by the CRU today, covers the period from 2026 to 2030 and sets expenditures by EirGrid and ESB Networks of €18.9bn.
The new pricing and expenditure levels will enable some 500 capital projects, including 29 priority transmission projects and 27 priority distribution substations, 50,000 pole replacement 181km of new overhead line, and 319km of underground cable.
The new money will also fund 876km of increased capacity on existing overhead lines
The money will also create capacity on the grid for as much as 5GW of offshore wind energy in the early 2030s, the government said.
The build programme will be supported by a €3.5 billion Government equity investment, as committed to in the revised National Development Plan in July.
ESB Networks will receive €1.5 billion this week as part of the investment.
Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment Darragh O’Brien (pictured second from left) said: “The framework will deliver the resilience our energy system needs to withstand extreme weather events.
“The large-scale investment also means that Ireland can develop the energy system that is required to deliver on our housing, industrial development, digitalisation and climate action goals.”
Wind Energy Ireland welcomed the announcement, but warned that the investment would need to be backed by active support right across Irish society.
Dave Linehan, Head of Policy and Research with Wind Energy Ireland, said: “Along with this investment must come political support, from every party and none, and backing from everyone in Ireland who wants a cleaner, more efficient and more independent energy system.
“Previous projects, like the North-South Interconnector, have been blocked or stalled because of a lack of support and we simply can’t allow that to happen again.”