EirGrid and the transmission system operator (TSO) in Northern Ireland (SONI) are set to demerge, on instruction from Northern Ireland’s Utility Regular.
The Utility Regulator in Northern Ireland issued a decision in August 2022 regarding SONI
governance and it became effective within the SONI TSO Licence on 26 October 2022. It requires significant changes to the SONI Ltd Board composition and the relationship between it and its parent EirGrid plc. It also requires the SONI TSO business be managerially and operationally separate from EirGrid and any other company within the EirGrid Group. SONI has to have separate premises, IT and other systems, equipment, facilities, processes and staff.
The demerger is expected to take at least two years, according to a £2 million contract opened for tender to deliver services to complete it.