Ireland: Utilities

The European Union's electricity market design provisions have been transposed into Irish law through new regulations addressing flexible connection agreements and grid information requirements. These changes aim to streamline grid connections in capacity-constrained areas while establishing transparency standards for distribution system operators and system users.

Ireland's Commission for Regulation of Utilities is consulting on Grid Code modification MPID 345, which would impose new fault ride-through requirements on transmission-connected demand facilities, particularly data centres. The proposed compliance and derogation framework includes usage caps and curtailment procedures that could significantly impact customer operations and contractual entitlements under connection agreements.

The Private Wires Bill 2025 - only the General Scheme of the Bill has been published to date. This was submitted to the Joint Committee for review.

A Matheson team, led by Garret Farrelly, Head of Energy, Natural Resources and Utilities and Owen Collins, senior associate, advised Ørsted on the recently announced corporate power purchase agreement with Johnson & Johnson

Several elements of the framework needed to construct and finance Ireland's offshore renewable energy infrastructure are being progressed in tandem.

Major investments are on the horizon, but for the first time, the main focus is on projects which help us to create a sustainable economy.