Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 May 2026
314. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment his views on the long-term delays being experienced by those building once-off houses in securing electricity connections; if he is aware that priority appears to be given to large scale residential developments; where significant connection delays are also reported; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40194/26]
View answerResponsibility for the regulation of the electricity market is a matter for the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) which is an independent regulator, accountable to a Committee of the Oireachtas and not to me as Minister. The CRU was assigned responsibility for the regulation of the Irish electricity sector following the enactment of the Electricity Regulation Act, 1999 and subsequent legislation.
The management of, and matters related to, domestic connections to the electricity grid are matters for ESB Networks, under rules determined by the CRU.
All customers have a right to a connection from ESB Networks. However, the time required to connect is dependent on a range of factors, including available capacity on the network, physical infrastructure availability, adequate space for new infrastructure such as substations, and the time required to secure authorisations and planning to build the infrastructure, together with supply chain lead times.
Over the last four years ESBN has connected over 147,000 homes and businesses to the distribution network and connection applications are dealt with on a sequential first-come first-served basis. I am advised that while a single individual home may be connected within a number of weeks, a new multi-phase residential development could require a significant amount of new infrastructure to be built. With growing demand across all sectors and long lead times for infrastructure, ESB Networks are advising developers to provide as much notice of their requirements as possible, and to have a connection agreement with ESB Networks in place prior to starting a new development.
The CRU and ESB Networks have respective email addresses for Deputies, should they wish to raise specific matters of concern (oireachtas@cru.ie, oireachtas@esb.ie).
