KILDARE: ESB comes under attack for not making connections fast enough

ESB Networks has come under fire over delays in providing power to public building projects.

Cllr Padraig McEvoy told a Kildare County Council meeting that  it took a school in Clane 15 years to get a connection and he said some schools run on generators “for many months” before getting connected.

He was one of a number of councillors who called for an “oversight forum” to coordinate the

scheduling of electrical connections for publicly funded projects.

Green Party councillor Peter Hamilton called for better practice to tackle the problem of “consistent bottlenecks.”

Cllr Angela Feeney also criticised the delays including the delivery of up to date vehicle charging facilities.

Cllr Fintan Brett said people have to wait “for months and months” to get a connection and then “pay outrageous prices.”

He criticised a lack of communication from ESB Networks - unlike many other public bodies.

“They are holding up so many projects and making extortionate profits,” said Cllr Bill Clear.

KCC official Celina Barrett said an effort would be initially made to address the issue locally.

She said that at present there is no “normal procedure in place for the council to engage with ESB Networks although there is continued contact at local level on an ongoing basis.”

Two other councillors - Tracey O’Dwyer and Peggy O’Dwyer - said ESB management should attend a KCC meeting to “outline in detail the process required to connect power supply to traffic lights, pedestrian crossing and toucan crossing lights and public street lighting with the aim of making (doing this) in a more timely manner.”

Cllr O’Dwyer said clarity is needed on how to get a pedestrian crossing connected.

In an age of emails, she criticised the needs for written letters between KCC and ESB and said communication between two are “convoluted and drawn out.”

She said a face to face meeting is needed with the ESB. Cllr Chris Pender said a footpath in Newbridge was “torn up and surrounded with orange  barriers and left for at least nine months.”