Utility Regulator’s report on control of NI electricity supply a ‘wake up call’

The TUV leader has sent Gordon Lyons a series of questions about the energy transmission system known as SONI that powers every home, business, school, hospital and farm in the Province.

It follows a report by the Utility Regulator last week which warned that NI’s power supply could be in danger of being influenced by its southern owner, EirGrid.

The Regulator also said there was a “potential for inappropriately high prices for NI consumers” due to the ROI-dominated ownership structure.

Mr Allister has set down a number of questions in the Assembly for Mr Lyons this week.

These include: “Why are the Northern Ireland electricity consumers paying for items required in the Republic of Ireland grid, as found by the Utility Regulator?

“Why does he propose to do about it? And, is it correct that Northern Ireland’s electricity grid is now run from a control room in Dublin?

“Is the minister satisfied that the Utility Regulator has adequate powers to oversee and require change in respect of SONI?

“Has the minister the power to change the terms of the licence of SONI? And, to whom is SONI accountable?

Mr Allister said: “It is time for action. We even have the Republic, through EirGrid, claiming SONI’s Articles of Association cannot be altered without the consent of the Republic of Ireland’s environment minister and subject to ‘Irish law.’

“There is a direct challenge to Gordon Lyons as economy minister. There is no point in being economy minister if he can’t robustly act to sort out this mess and bring SONI under local control.

“In the rush to establish the Single Electricity Marker then minister Nigel Dodds and later Arlene Foster did not put in place barriers to this ROI takeover.”

Mr Allister added that the recent Utility Regulator report was a “wake up call to those asleep at the wheel while governance of our electricity sector has passed under the control of the Dublin Government.”

Shortly after the report’s publication last week the UUP said that it proved that Northern Ireland’s electricity supply was “too fragile and dependent” on the Irish Republic’s state-owned utilities.

The UUP’s finance spokesperson Steve Aiken called on the economy minister to initiate a fundamental and far-reaching review of the Province’s energy security and supply system.

Since 2006 SONI has been part of the EirGrid group operating the all-island wholesale electricity market through the Single Market Operator scheme.

Back in January this year the DUP MP Sammy Wilson called for Northern Ireland to “take back control” of the SONI system.