Northern Ireland Water has gone out to tender with a contract to put power purchase agreements (PPAs)in place for renewable electricity worth an estimated £168 million.
NI Water is the largest user of electricity in Northern Ireland and currently consumes approximately 290 GWh of electricity per annum. The water company is now looking to agree commercially attractive PPAs with suitable renewable projects to deliver approximately 45 – 90 GWh of power per annum across almost 3000 sites.
The utility wants to procure between 15-30 percent of its electricity from renewable sources through off site Corporate Power Purchase Agreements (CPPAs).
The move follows the the introduction of the Integrated Single Electricity Market (I-SEM), the new wholesale electricity market arrangement for Ireland and Northern Ireland which went live yesterday.
The new market arrangements are designed to integrate the all-island electricity market with European electricity markets, making optimal use of cross-border transmission assets, which, according to the decision making authority the Single Electricity Market Committee (SEMC) is expected to
“deliver increased levels of competition which should help put a downward pressure on prices as well as encouraging greater levels of security of supply and transparency”.
The principal objective of the SEMC is to protect the interests of consumers of electricity wherever appropriate by promoting effective competition between persons engaged in, or in commercial activities connected with the sale or purchase of electricity through the SEM.
The Committee consist of three Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) and three Utility Regulator (UR) representatives along with an independent and a deputy independent member. Both regulatory bodies have committed to work together to ensure the effective delivery of both joint and separate statutory remits and for the customers of the energy and water sectors they regulate.
NI Water said with the introduction of iSEM and the volatility of electricity pricing, which is heavily influenced by commodity and foreign exchange markets, it recognises the potential to engage with renewable developers and procure electricity for future years providing both a reliable supply of “green” electricity and price security for periods of 10-20 years.
As a result NI Water is looking run a competitive tender process and enter into a contract(s) for CPPA(s) to provide renewable electricity to a number of NI Water sites.
Time limit for receipt of tenders, for the contract, which could run for up to 20 years, or requests to participate is 5th November 2018 – click here to access the tender documentation.
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