The Irish National Electrification Scheme

Abstract

JRELAND is in the fourth decade of an attempt to modernize its economy and raise its standard of living, and the electrification program is both the symbol and one of the most important elements of this campaign. Two features make the development of electricity in Eire of special interest: although electric power was not available outside the major cities at the formation of the Free State in 1922, the transmission grid will extend throughout the country by 1960; and, because Ireland has no oil and very little coal, the scheme will rely largely on peat for fuel. When Ireland was under British rule, electricity, used mainly for lighting, was available only in the larger urban centers and was generated almost exclusively from imported coal. The largest generating plant was that of the Dublin Corporation, with a maximum annual output of about 20 million kilowatt-hours. The total annual output of the country was less than 50 million kilowatt-hours. The idea of a nation-wide electricity supply for Ireland was conceived in the early 1920's by a young electrical engineer, T. A. McLaughlin, then employed in Germany by the electrical-engineering firm of SiemensSchuckert. Dr. McLaughlin visualized electric power as the basis for a new social and economic program for the young state. After studying memoirs on coal, peat, and water-power resources produced in 1921 and 1922 by the Dail Commission of Inquiry into Resources and Industries, he selected for development the largest source of water power on the island-the River Shannon. He convinced the Irish leaders and his employers of the feasibility of the plan, and the Free State government entered into an agreement by which Siemens-Schuckert was to design a detailed project and economically justify it to the satisfaction of a tribunal of international experts. Those opposed to the project questioned whether the country could provide a demand for the power produced, since even in partial development