ENDESA enters Irish market
On thursday July 31st ESB and the Spanish power company, ENDESA entered into an agreement in respect of the sale of two power stations, two peaking plants and two sites. Negotiations between ESB, its staff, their representative trade unions, and ENDESA will now commence with a view to dealing with all matters relating to employees affected by the sale. It is anticipated that this process will be concluded by year end.
ENDESA, which has operated in Spain since 1944, now operates in 13 countries, has an installed capacity of 49GW and has a customer base of over 23million.
According to a press release issued by ENDESA this presents the company with the environmental challenge of improving the efficiency of current plants and the construction of new ones with cleaner generation technologies. ENDESA is committed to developing a plan for repowering and improving the efficiency of the plants it has acquired, which will be finalised in the first half of 2012.
The agreement was signed in Dublin by ESB Chief Executive, Padraig McManus and Jesús Olmos, General Manager for Corporate Development at ENDESA.
The Commission for Energy Regulation has welcomed the announcement as an important development for competition in the power generation sector in Ireland, with ENDESA becoming a significant new player in the market. It represents a key step in achieving the Commission’s aim of reducing ESB’s share of the power generation market to 40% by 2010. Furthermore it indicates a long term commitment by ENDESA, which is one of the largest utility firms in Europe, to developing a strategic presence in the Irish energy sector.
The Commission is satisfied that the purchase of these generation plants is in line with the terms of the CER-ESB Asset Strategy agreement, which was signed by both the Commission and ESB in April 2007 and which resulted in ESB being awarded authorisation to construct a new 400MW CCGT in Aghada.
What it said in the
papers...
Spain’s ENDESAto pour €900m
into Irish power market
Spanish utility ENDESA is
planning an investment
programme worth up to
€900million in a bid to becoming
the leading player in the Irish
market, following its purchase of
two ESB power plants in a €450
million deal last week.
The company has told its
Spanish shareholders that it
intends to build new power
stations on two vacant sites which
came as part of the deal. The two
stations which are located at
Lanesborough, Co. Longford and
Shannonbridge, Co. Offaly would
have a combined capacity of
around 300 megawatts
representing enough energy to
power 300,000 homes. It also
indicated that it hopes to replace
the two power stations that it
purchased last week, Tarbert in Co
Kerry and Great Island in Co
Wexford with new gas fired plants
by the first half of 2012.
Sunday Tribune 03/08/2008
Sale of Great Island welcomed
The sale of the Great Island power
plant has been welcomed by
Fianna Fail TD. Dep. Sean Connick.
Speaking to the New Ross Echo this
week Dep. Connick expressed his
delight that the Spanish electricity
company have bought the power
plant. “This development helps to
secure the future of the Great
Island site as a working power
generating plant,” he said.
New Ross Echo 06/08/2008
Spanish giant ENDESAto buy
Rhode and Shannonbridge
stations
Spanish utilities giant ENDESA is
this week concluding the purchase
of 450million euro of assets from
the ESB, including a peaking plant
in Rhode and a site with a permit
for a future plant in
Shannonbridge after last week
being named the preferred bidder
for the deal. Earlier this week
ENDESA said Ireland is a priority
market for expansion for the
company. Company bosses said
they were attracted to Ireland by
the fact demand for power is
growing four percent in Ireland
and that it is a liberalised market.
Offaly Independent 02/08/2008
Deal makes ENDESA new power
in Irish electricity
Spanish utility giant ENDESA is in
talks to buy Viridian's electricity
generation plant in Huntstown,
West Dublin, following the
conclusion of a deal which gives it
control of close to 20 per cent of the
ESB's generation assets.
Industry sources say ENDESA
will shortly cement its position in
the Irish market by buying
Viridian's Huntstown power
station. Under an agreement
reached with the CER in November
2006, ESB was to sell four plants.
The Poolbeg and Marina stations
have not been purchased by
ENDESA but are in the process of
being closed by ESB by 2010. In
exchange for reducing its market
power, CER approved the
construction of a 400MW ESB
power station at Aghada, Co Cork.
Irishtimes.com 01/08/2008
Watchdog welcomes ENDESA
Energy entry
Spanish electricity company
ENDESA is buying two of the ESB's
oil-fired power stations for €450m.
The deal involves Great Island in
Wexford and Tarbert in Co Kerry.
Energy Regulator Tom Reeves said
that at the moment, the move
would provide new competition in
power generation, as this electricity
would be sold into the all-Ireland
wholesale market. But Mr Reeves
hoped that ENDESA would
eventually enter the Irish retail
market. He said the ENDESA move
was part of a deal with his office
two years ago, under which ESB
would sell off close capacity in
return for permission to build a
new power stations in Cork.
RTÉ Morning Business News
01/08/2008
