Editors letter

Hello and Welcome
to the February issue of EM.

The end of January saw the departure of Tadhg O'Donoghue from ESB, following his retirement from the position as Chairman. Tadhg is replaced by Lochlann Quinn, who took up the post with effect from January 22nd.

Tadhg has always been a good friend of EM and hugely supportive of the publication since his initial appointment seven years ago. In fact, he gave a very extensive interview in the first issue following his appointment and has made many contributions to the publication in the years since.

Tadhg always had an 'open door' policy and he was extremely accommodating to us despite pressures of work. We wish Tadhg, Eilis and their family well in the years ahead as we welcome Lochlann Quinn to the position that Tadhg has vacated. With all the discussion on green energy, environmental concerns and energy conservation, the February issue of EM seems to reflect these issues. Our Electricity abroad feature discusses geothermal energy in Iceland, which provides more than 25% of that country's electricity requirements.

It also provides the heating and hot water requirements for about 87% of the nation's homes. We also feature energy efficiency initiatives in ESB Customer Supply and Group Services, as well as ESBIE's drive to assist its customers in making savings in this area. If you come up with any innovative energy-saving ideas, please let us know and we will be happy to share them with our readers.

Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor,

I'm sorry it's taken so long to put this on an email but I was wondering if you could pass on my thanks to those who restored the power supply on Christmas Eve to the Ballyneety area in Co. Limerick. Too often people are quick to criticise the service, but I am sure those who worked on restoring the power would much prefer to have been with their families etc. Anyway, many thanks again to all those who ensured that the power was restored. It was greatly appreciated. I understand the crew involved were Paddy O'Donoghue, Paddy Clohessy and Patsy Ryan.

David McNamara
Ballyneety

Dear Editor,

I just want to acknowledge the excellent service I got from you recently and to thank the electrician involved. Both my wife and I had gone away for a night leaving my two teenage sons alone in the house. From about 8pm the lights started flickering and went out completely around 10.30pm. Luckily enough, the boys managed to contact us on my mobile. I got them to check if other houses were gone out, which they were not. I then asked them to listen to the meter box, which is outside the house. They explained that they could hear crackling from it.

On that basis, with a possible risk of fire, I immediately rang your emergency number, where I talked to a very pleasant lady. The net result was that an electrician arrived at my house within 12 minutes. He immediately identified the fault within the main fuse housing beside the meter box. He replaced the full unit and was gone within about an hour, with power restored.

As you can imagine, both my wife and I fully relaxed on our night away in the full knowledge that there was no longer any risk. I have to stay that this was excellent service. You probably only get contacted by customers when there is a complaint, but in this case I could not let the occasion go by without complimenting your service.

Please pass on my thanks to the appropriate person/area manager/supervisor/electrician. It was a job well done.

Colm Long
Waterford