The regulatory authorities for energy in Ireland and Northern Ireland have announced that the legal framework for the single electricity market went active on July 3.

The Single Electricity Market, the flagship project for the emerging All Island Energy Market, is a single set of wholesale electricity trading arrangements for the island of Ireland. This unique development combines two smaller markets to bring competition, security of supply and efficiency benefits to all electricity consumers on the island. This is the main preparatory step to the start of trading planned for Nov. 1, 2007.

Tom Reeves, chairman of the Commission for Energy Regulation, and Iain Osborne, CEO of Northern Ireland Authority for Utility Regulation, have both strongly welcomed this major step toward implementation of the SEM and have acknowledged the significant effort and cooperation across the industry to get to this stage.

Both administrations have now enacted the necessary legislative framework to support the SEM. The rules of the new market, as set out in the Trading & Settlement Code, are now formally adopted. These new rules will become binding on all generators and suppliers of electricity who will be obliged to sign up to the new market and its rules under new license amendments. Finally, the two transmission system operators on the island, Eirgrid and SONI Ltd., will jointly undertake the central market administrative function of Single Market Operator under new licences issued today.

To reflect the joint nature of these arrangements the CER and the NIAUR will refer all SEM Matters to a joint SEM Committee for decision. The SEM Committee, established under statute in both jurisdictions, will be put in place during this Go Active period and will comprise members of both regulatory authorities as well as an independent member.