Overview

The aim of the project is to create and establish a single market for natural gas and electricity on the island of Ireland. The project was started following a joint policy decision by the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Investment in Northern Ireland and the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources to create the all-island energy market with the two Regulatory Authorities , Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) and the Northern Ireland Authority for Utility Regulation (NIAUR).

The All-Island Project is a joint initiative run by the CER and the NIAUR. 

In November 2004, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETI) and the Department of Communications,Energy and Natural Resources (DCENR) together with the NIAUR and the CER published a Development Framework for an All Island Energy Market, setting out the dates by which they expect to achieve these unified markets.

On 1st November 2007 the Single Electricity Market (SEM) went live, commencing the trading of wholesale electricity in Ireland and Northern Ireland on an All-Island basis.

The Single Electricity Market (SEM) consists of a gross mandatory pool market , into which all electricity generated on or imported onto the island of Ireland must be sold, and from which all wholesale electricity for consumption on or export from the island of Ireland must be purchased.

The Regulators are committed to working together to establish All -Island Common Arrangements for Gas whereby all stakeholders can buy, sell, transport, operate, develop and plan the natural gas market north and south of the border effectively on an all-island basis.  This means that variations in the price and conditions on which gas is bought and sold will be determined by market conditions and economics, not by variations in regulatory arrangements.

As an addendum, please refer to the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the Commission and the Utility Regulator on the 14th February 2008, which outlines the high level principles of the CAG project.