Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 18 December 2025
287. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if his attention has been drawn to the significant amount of grid connection capacity held by data centres which has not been used. [73595/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraPlanning, building, safely operating and maintaining the electricity system are functions which are assigned to the respective Distribution and Transmission System Operators, who are independent of me as Minister in the exercise of their respective functions. They are accountable to the independent regulator, the CRU.
EirGrid regularly reviews forecasted electricity demand through the Generation Capacity Statement and All-Island Resource Adequacy Assessment. Similarly, the CRU regularly reviews electricity connection policies to ensure they align with national policy. Each of these organisations have a dedicated email address for Oireachtas members, as such the Deputy may wish to engage with EirGrid, ESBN and CRU directly via oireachtas@eirgrid.ie, oireachtas@esb.ie and oireachtas@cru.ie.
However, my Department is in regular engagement with the system operators and the Commission for Regulation of Utilities working to address challenges around facilitating data centre connections. The Government is aware of the challenges of finding a balanced approach to facilitating additional demand by data centres while also ensuring the competitiveness, sustainability and security of supply of our energy system.
The Programme for Government commits to addressing these challenges by scaling up investment in critical infrastructure and in our electricity grid and committing to allow data centres that contribute both to economic growth and efficient grid usage, by enhancing the use of renewable energy, energy efficient technology and energy effective solutions.
