Statement from Robin McCormick, General Manager, SONI

SONI’s priority is ensuring Northern Ireland has a secure electricity supply delivered at the least possible cost to consumers.

“The ISEM was designed by the SEM Committee (The Utility Regulator for Northern Ireland, The Commission for Regulation of Utilities in ROI and two independent members), to achieve a reliable supply and to help reduce costs to bill payers. This was then implemented by SONI.

“The recent capacity auction, where generators were invited to bid for supply contracts, was designed to provide capacity for the period May 2018 to September 2019. The auction reflects the diversity of generation participating in the single electricity market, such as demand side units.

“It takes into account the availability and performance of generators, a range of demand
forecasts and interconnection between Northern Ireland and the Republic and with Great Britain. Crucially, it ensures that enough generation is on the system to meet the security standards determined by the Single Electricity Market Committee. There were 100 bidders in the auction, of which 93 were successful.

“The Utility Regulator has estimated that the auction process will result in savings to consumers of approximately £175 million across the island.”

“We are confident that the generators who have been successful in that auction process will provide sufficient and secure generation for Northern Ireland at the lowest possible cost.

“Further Capacity auctions will take place later in 2018 for future periods.”