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EIRGRID’S DEADLINE FOR for public submissions on the Gridlink project which will see 1,300 electricity pylons built between Munster and Leinster expires today.
Both the Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Minister for Communications Pat Rabbitte have both weighed in on the national controversy over plans to erect new electricity pylons carrying overhead power cables.
Speaking this morning on Newstalk Breakfast, Pat Rabbitte said that if underground cables are installed rather than overhead pylons then “electricity consumers must be prepared to take the hit on their bills over the next 50 years”. He said that that while underground cables are “feasible” the extra cost will go “onto the bills of you and I and every other domestic customer”.
Additional cost
He said that the Energy Regulator has investigated what the additional cost will be and said they calculated that over all three legs of the Eirgrid programme it would cost an additional €2 billion and would add 3 per cent to consumer electricity bills over the next 50 years.
When asked if people who allow pylons be built on their land be compensated, he said that people who have roads build through their lands are compensated and it was something that Eirgrid would be assessing, but indicated that it was very much a possibility they would be.
Rabbitte added that there were no health concerns over the building of pylons, as far as he is concerned, adding that a national agency of government, like that of Eirgrid, has no vested interest in exposing people to risk.
Intrusion
The minister said reiterated his comment that there has to be a “trade off” between modern civilization and intrusion on the way we live. “We can’t not have power and electricity,” he said.
When asked would he like to live next to a pylon, he said that as he lives in Clondalkin, it would be difficult to get the room to build a poll let alone a pylon. “I don’t think it helps the debate by me answering the question,” he said.
The construction of electricity pylons across the country are coming under increased criticism by opposition groups, with a number of protests taking place.
The deadline for submissions on this third round of public consultation conducted by Eirgrid is 5pm today. To find out more about making a submission click here.
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Would going under ground not lessen the impact of storm damage on electricity supply ?
Pat ‘sure isn’t that what you do to get into power’ Rabbitte. The socialist turned Capitalist. Only in Ireland.
Meanwhile in Germany, energy costs have dropped 30% over the past 3 years. Pat Rabitte is the thickest politician that has ever lived, he spouts nonsense 24/7.
What is the relevance of quoting German decreases in energy costs to the debate on whether cables should be above or below ground? The article you’ve cited mentions that the decrease is due to increased supply as a result of wind and solar power and also due to record low coal prices. It has nothing to do with cables being below or above the ground.
Perhaps you’re arguing for more wind turbines? I’m sure that those against electricity pylons would happily have a few wind turbines dotted about the place instead.
Rabbitte as usual yrying to put the frightners on people to get his way. Our energy costs need to be addressed as we are losing attractiveness to foreign investors, especially as a data management hub. The debate needs to be why is he in a coma, when the rest of Europe is targetting reduced energy costs. This Govt is now the most penal we have ever served under from a tax point of view also. We are being crucified with indirect taxes and it looks set to continue.
Germany has the second highest electricity costs in the EU because of their rush for wind energy.
well said…..the millions of man hours wasted nearly every year on emergency repairs after a storm. ….never mind 3% rise in bills for 50 years. …the overtime saved would probably cover the extra cost of going underground in less than 5 years. ….likewise, if all the service departments/councils/planners actually got together and thought about it. ….think of all the services which could be installed underground at the same time, (esb, phone/fibre, drainage, water), thereby spreading the costs involved. ….. if only “logic” meant euros in their pockets, it would be done straight away !!
I’d rather pay a bit extra for that then
The extorted property tax and USC,
3% over 50 years
Since the ‘regulator’ has come in they have gone up way more than that
And what is the rate of inflation due to be over 50 years, such short term outlook has us where we are with no money to run the country
To be fair to him, I think he means 3% year in year out for the next 50 years as the money needs to be borrowed and paid back with interest.
The land values would be higher if there were no pylons on them. Has he taken that into consideration?
The problem is the bill payers or the government don’t benefit from that increased land value
Eirgrid are a private company. They want to do what’s best for their shareholders. They don’t care that property around these pylons is devalued.
Once they’ve been erected, there’s absolutely incentive for them to move the cables underground.
*NO* incentive
TRANSLATION=Your getting them you clowns,
Public consultation my arse
Little fat Paddy with his face in the trough
what kind of headline is this in journal [ .underground pylons ] how can you build underground pylons has me beat please get your headline changed before ye are sent to loonie bin .cheers I know a rabbitt is talking but are these special ones for underground lighting ,?
Everything is so short sighted think 100yrs plus underground where possible. Yes the cost will he huge but in the long term better.
All the culchies wanting more electricity and super fast broadband not to mention a few new train routes… A few luas lines would be nice too but we don’t want to see any cables or have any land touched….Yeah sound lads we’ll get back to ya on that one..!
Much ado about nothing! Pylons is by far the cheapest option.
The bungalow blitzers don’t want to see them from their kitchen window though.
Can’t they just buy a few more doubles adaptors… They’ll be grand lads…!
@ Animal
Go on YA JACKEEN
Only piece ye seem to know about the country side are what ye inbreds try and read in the media!!!
Go on….. Use the 3rd gear in your Prius and drive beyond the M50!!
Clown.
“Tis da meeja… Tis their fault… Dem jackeen meeja!”
Animal you think being from some mickey mouse city makes you into something special. Sorry animal, it takes more than that. “culchies” would buy and sell the likes of you.
This is for useless wind farms, nothing to do with wanting more electricity. Go and do a bit of research before you hit the keyboard next time.
Enda’s buddys want access to the cash pump that is useless wind energy, so enda is duly bending over.
Maybe if we just bury the cables instead of the pylons it wont cost as much!
I was wondering how long it would take before a politician weighted in with scare tactics to try and keep the Irish people compliant. How much was in your brown envelope Mr. Rabbitte? And answer the question asked… Would you like to live under a pylon??
And the rest! How much have electricity prices come up over the last 10 years! More than 3%
The people who are going to be effected by this project want the cables underground. Why dont the government and those involved respect them?
Cos its the same old NIMBY hysteria.
People tune them out after a while.
The same mob will bemoan poor mobile coverage yet attack any provider trying to erect a coverage mast.
Can’t see why not put them underground. there are piety of routes to take as well that wouldn’t necessarily impact on different groups e.g. farmers, road users etc. For instance why not use the old (disused) rail links and put the route along them so that even while building it there would be little impact.
The disused rail links seems to be a good idea on the face of it and does warrant further investigation. In fact I see no reason why that wouldn’t work. Also, it shouldn’t take a whole lot of work to dig trenches along the side of our roads, on the grass part, install big ducting/pipe and run the cable through that. It can’t be that difficult or disruptive.
The main reason is the cost. Every time there’s a fault on the line the engineers will have to excavate the ground and dig up the buried cable to fix it. So that’s going to cost a lot more than a line that’s over the ground and easily accessible. Also, to fix a buried line would take much longer than an overhead line so anybody affected by the faulty line is going to be without electricity for a lot longer than if they were above the ground.
Put in junction/service boxes then they wouldn’t have to excavate every time there was a fault.
Green rebel, your thinking in the wrong scale. These are very high voltage cables. The trenches needed for then would be massive
Fair point cooperguy, do you or can anyone tell me what are the sizes/diameters of these cables then?
It’s not the cables themselves apparently, it’s the heat they give off that’s the issue. You’d have to Google for the size of the trenches required though
Hang on a sec cooperguy. You said / claim that the trenches would be huge. You tell Rebel to google it ! Where is your own source ?
Two things.
First of all it’s surely far less likely to be that faults occur underground. Most faults seem to occur due to storm damage etc and these are still more likely to occur with any overhead cables.
Secondly – you assume it is more expensive and would take longer to fix a buried cable than to fix a cable suspended 100 feet in the air. Both have different complexities so on what bass are you making this assumption ?
And anyway if there are less faults (as would likely to be if underground) surely the fixing cost balances up the overall cost.
JP in not going to pull an exact number out of my arse because I don’t know one off the top of my head. That’s hardly a bad thing.
If you want the exact number the whole internet is at your finger tips
I didn’t ask you to magic up the number. But you did make the initial claims saying
1) Green rebel, your thinking in the wrong scale. These are very high voltage cables. The trenches needed for then would be massive
2)It’s not the cables themselves apparently, it’s the heat they give off that’s the issue.
Then you said “You’d have to Google for the size of the trenches required though”.
You make these broad weeping statements to justify your argument. Where are you getting this information is all I’m asking ?
I don’t know of any of the large pylons having a problem this winter – it’s generally the smaller ones out west that run into problems with trees etc.
Anything is possible, however is the country really willing to pay more so that the system could be put underground? Has any other country put their cables underground? I seem to remember seeing lots of cables I. France, and Germany, and pretty much everywhere else.
I’m sure the system is a bit more technical than a few lads with a digger digging a few trenches.
If there is big heat from the cables could that heat be used to keep the roads frost free?
Shoot yourself please
Hands up, I did some googling, the trenches for the underground wires would not be as big as I had been led to believe!
The likelihood of faults is actually much more if you bury the cables. The cables are more likely to overheat and the insulation is prone to being damaged over time. The facts that much larger cables need to be used to dissipate the heat and insulation is required means the cost is much much higher. Unfortunately for the uninformed masses, there are damn good reasons for routing these overhead.
Rabbitte says they are safe of course given his previous comments on “stretching” the truth when talking to the public it’s hard to believe him.
Rabbitte also said he lied to get into government
Is Pat Rabbitte an engineer? Amazing how all these politicians become experts at everything when they get elected…
Unlike all the experts commenting on this article…..
I’m sure he has an advisor or two who can explain things fairly clearly to him, so he doesn’t really need to be an engineer.
That’s a fair point but it doesn’t refute the many arguments for putting them underground. The only argument for pylons I’m aware of is the lower cost.
Installation, maintenance and fixing faults. So when you factor in cost, it pretty much ticks all the boxes to have them above ground. So only reason to be against them is having to look at them. As an engineer I know which I’d pick time and time again.
For a long time Most of the pylon upgrade schemes that are taking place around the country are sub contracted out to foreign contractors. Now why is it this time government are worried about Irish jobs ?
Any company within the EU can tender for contracts. Irish security companies carried out a lot of the work during the London Olympics much to the annoyance of English companies.
My point is not on foreign company’s getting Irish jobs. My point is based on what The Taoiseach had stated that there would be less immigration due to job creation ? If the contracts are dealt with by foreign workers due to a skill shortage in this area. It only means he said it with no real facts to back it up !!!!
I think he means if there is better infrastructure of power then companies (multinationals) would be able to set up shop cause the region would be able to better cope with power demands
but at the same time, i don’t see how that would increase the number of jobs for Ireland, cause these multinationals are either coming or they aren’t. They might set up shop in the west of Ireland but that only moves jobs away from Dublin. this is obviously good for rural towns etc but it doesn’t increase the number of jobs in Ireland at all, if anything it helps to more fairly distribute them but thats about it.
If we had put the electricity underground in the first place we would have the problem of massive pylons destroying our landscape
Wouldnt*
And no loss is power during storms
Cheers Darren, where can I send you my extra large energy bills? You must be good for it obviously.
They will have to dig very deep holes to put the pylons underground.would they not be better off just putting the cables underground ;)
Must have little to worry about. O no look there building in the field across the road. It will ruin my view. Arseholes, get a real problem.
Eirgrid like to portray those opposed to their plans as NIMBY’s but that is far from the truth. I don’t live near one of these proposed routes but I care deeply about Ireland & it’s environment & as far as I am concerned the whole country is my back yard. Every pylon Eirgrid try to erect will be opposed & not just by locals of that area but by people from all over Ireland, whether Eirgrid’s first attempt to steamroll the people of Ireland is in Louth, Mayo or Wexford I’ll be driving up from Waterford to lend my support & so will thousands of others & Eirgrid will see their costs escalate fast. So Eirgrid do the right thing & stop your bullying of rural Ireland & put these lines underground or off-shore.
I hope to look back with pride in future years that we are the people who put a stop to Eirgrid’s destruction of our environment & heritage. It might be too late for Georgian Dublin & Woodquay but it’s not too late to stop these unnecessary pylons from permanently destroying our countryside. Make no mistake about it, this infrastructure isn’t being built for the benefit of the Irish people but for the benefit of a few well connected business people who hope to do well out of selling wind power into the UK backed by subsidies & support from their friends in the Irish Govt.
The golden circle is alive & well. These Govt officials will be appointed to the boards of the organisations they facilitate to bully the Irish people as soon as their political careers end. It’s sickening.
You can be sure that the brief that Eirgrid’s engineers got was to find the cheapest way to erect this infrastructure & this is what they did. Well maybe it’s time they went back to the drawing board & looked for the best way to build it & I have have no doubt that they will find that going underground & off-shore is the best way. Saving money in the short run at the cost of destroying rural communities is not good business & will be resisted at every step by people who care about our country & see Ireland as not just an economy but a society.
I agree completely – Rabbitte has absolutely no respect for the Electorate – describing the campaign as someone’s “whim” on Morning Ireland .
Is there any end to this mans arrogance and ignorance ?
I’m so looking foreword to the Local Elections !
Thanks Thomas for that input, it’s a pity our politicians couldn’t defend their stand on any issue so convincingly and honestly.
Stance
What else can you expect from a stickie in a suit except dismiss any counter argument as a whim
Free education has a lot to answer for
Er 3% over 50 years?
Sure what was the last energy prices increase – 8%, in one go? And what was the increase last year, and the year before that?
3% over 50 years sounds like a bargain to be honest..
I agree that they should be put underground.
Yes, there will be an increase in bills to pay for it. But it will be minimal and there will never be any damage from weather. So there will be some savings there which you can deduct from the extra cost of initially putting them underground. Increases in electricity bills years into the future will be offset (at least somewhat) from household appliances being manufactured with greater energy efficiency.
Also, there will not be any effect on property prices and a greatly reduced exposure to electromagnetic radiation for residents living in the proximity. Plus the fact that you won’t be able to see the things!
Anyone with any sense will realise this! This whole thing reminds me of a comment I read here where another commenter described Ireland building houses everywhere willy nilly (during the boom anyway) as being like a country with ADHD, with absolutely no pre-planning for the future or consideration for the environment etc. Don’t buy the propaganda from people with conflicts of interest!
50 years Mr Rabid?
But you’ll be gone in 2.
What do you care?
Typical Ireland. Let’s keep doing something which we all know will inevitably have to be corrected. Where is our imagination? The likes of Noonan make this stuff up as they go along instead of agreeing a philosophy with the people and basing all decisions within that. Nobody wants bloody pylons and nobody ever did. They are an eye sore in this beautiful country that we need to protect.
I would love to see Pat Rabbitte strapped to a polygraph and asked a few questions about our recent past. I’d put money on that needle going up and down like a hoors knickers.
Rat Pabbitte should be fired…out of a cannon, into the sun
And bear in mind, kids, that 3% is a government estimate. So you can imagine how much it will actually cost.
Underground pylons? Great idea!!
You would have to dig down quite a bit to bury a 200ft pylon!
Only about 200 foot.
It must be remembered that these pylons are not normal pylons but in fact are as tall as liberty hall in Dublin. Our children deserve that we oppose this destruction of our beautiful country.
They are to be 45 metres tall and when they are being erected nears dwellings it will be at a minimum distance of 50 metres and that’s just to insure that if they do fall down that they will not land on a house etc… Thank you EirGrid how very considerate of you!
3% over 50 years is peanuts, inflation will drive the cost of electricity up a couple of 100% in the next 50 years. Its unbelievable the pathetic excuses Rabbitte and Co. are throwing out trying to influence people, come into the 21st century Ireland and bury the the god damn cables!!
Maybe he meat 3% per year?
But yeah over 50 years its 0.06% per annum…. Miniscule.
Either way 3% per year or over 50 years, these should be buried. In the 90′s and early 00′s we brought a gas line from Belmullet to east Galway and from there to Limerick and Dublin, all buried well under ground, it passes my front gate!..A very well organised project, and left the land in better nick than they got it!….Vested interests just could not be bothered investing more to bury them!
The only winners from this will be the legal profession after taking on all the CPO cases
Since Wind Farms have come in Elec Prices have risen at least 10% so this is a joke.
“We can’t not have power and electricity”,
a false argument, unless Mr Rabbitte is saying that the government plans to shut all power stations if it doesn’t get its way on the pylons.
Reminiscent of the argument put forward at the time of the bank guarantee,
“We can’t not have a banking system”.
What next:
“They are the least worst option”,
“They will be the cheapest pylons in the history of world electricity”.
Is this another example of Rabbitte licking up to big business, like he did when he reinstated the Burke exploration license regime on becoming minister, or is it a completely new shambles he is getting the country into.
I live in a city and there are 6 pylons nearby that I can actually see. Far more obscured by buildings etc… We need infrastructure but as soon as something is proposed the Nimbys come out in force.
I live underneath a pylon in Bluebell, Dublin 12. 5km from the city centre and there are no plans to put them underground.
Dublin 4 has pylons underground – why is that ?
whoever the end users are should have to pay this. Why should my bills go up to subsidise someone else. The project is either worth it to end users or its not, if its only worth it if its “free” then its a bad investment either way
If we don’t pay the 3% extra on our electricity bills for underground cable costs we will pay a lot more long term in taxes for the health and environmental effects of overground pylons. Revenue from tourism would drop dramatically. Property prices would drop in the areas affected and this would affect the overall economy, including the pockets of those who don’t live near affected areas. Pylons affect EVERYONE in Ireland regardless of where they live.
Seriously though when in the history of the state has a single administration has done so much damage ?. Economically and structurally …I can’t think of one.
Wow, short memory.
Just do it then Pat. Your not worried about how much bailing out banks cost us. Or how much you politicians cost us in undeserved wages and expenses. So why is this different?
Very difficult to get a mortgage on property near a pylon in the UK which makes the property pretty much unsaleable and therefore worthless. I hope Eirgrid are forced to put the cables underground.
Put them underground/overground/wombling free.
Irish people will continue to moan no matter where you put them.
unless you put them underground.
Ireland is a natural paradise and we need to work to preserve it. This is a false economy. I’ll absolutely take that 3% hit and get rid of the pylons.
What are underground pylons?
This is good old Irish logic – twisting the facts of the case. The facts are this :
1) The costs for this infrastructure will be loaded onto household and company bills. Therefore, this will destroy jobs , not create them.
2) No company has ever complained about lack of electricity.
3) Wind turbines are going to be connected to the pylons – the experience in Germany is that wind energy de-stabilizes the grid. Our politicians tell us we need this for a stable grid – the exact opposite is the case. This will lead to an unreliable grid and put extra pressure on back up generation.
Absolutely crazy logic used by the Irish again !
Headline is wrong. Should read as cables instead of pylons. Burying pylons would be an ordeal.
In 50 years the price of electricity will only rise by 3 percent? Why do I have any doubts about that prognostication? Who wants to wait 50 years to find out if there is even a morsel of truth in that statement? Now is the time to ensure that all the citizens of the Nation have a guaranteed supply of electricity, water, gas, and any other essential needs such as housing taken care of. Before the prices rise again in 50 years time.
The prices will rise immediately by 3% for 50 years is the estimate of the added cost of running the power underground.
This is nothing whatsoever to do with the usual price changes in electricity which will of course occur.
baffles me how stupid some people are…
And the simplest question to ask the ministers…
Would you live beside one ?
What is that dope rabitting on about???
I wudnt help his side of the debate is what he means. We should get the bond holders to pay for this
When the septic charges come on peoples doorstep they pay for it and when we send our oil and electricity overseas we still pay for it, it make you sick but look on the bright side when Shell pumps oil we will get a good check from the royalties
Pat is very frightening man to me .. there is a rumour going around ,that he tells lies ,so how can I trust him??
Can you??
Not really a cost /benefit analysis though, is it? Tourism, environment .. What is the cost of not burying cables?
If you use Michael Noonans ‘promissory notes’ deal analogy…………..by spreading the cost of ‘anything’ over more than 40 years, you actually save money………here’s the equation blah X blah blah = blah de blah de blah / blaaah = a % saving of one billion euro per annum……….so the cost of burying the cables underground would actually save us money per annum……am I making any sense here……..didn’t think so.
Shocking
They say its extra cost for maintenence to have them underground, what’s the cost for the maintenence under the sea? Plenty of junction boxes there! Use the disused rail lines as mentioned earlier, saving money on paying the farmers off as the government already owns the land!
Why do you say “it will see the building….”, the planning office might reject their planning permission…..it could happen…….
have your say