Members of the Westport electoral area committee have queried the decision by the ESB to install overhead wires for the majority of the Carrowbeg/Castlebar 110KV project.
At the bi-monthly meeting of the committee on Tuesday, Mary Keogh, project manager, gave a project update to members during which time she said only five kilometres of cables in Castlebar will be underground.
The €27 million project, which includes the construction of a new station in Carrowbeg, the construction of a 110KV line from Carrowbeg to the existing station in Castlebar, and some works to the Castlebar station, is expected to be fully complete by September 2010.
However, local councillors in Westport have queried the decision to keep most of the wires over ground.
Ms Keogh explained that if overground cables get damaged they can be replaced quickly. However, she said if underground cables get damaged it takes longer to find the fault and is far more costly to replace.
Committee Chairman Cllr John O’Malley said he always envisaged that where lines were upgraded, they would be put underground. He stressed the point that there wouldn’t be as many faults with underground cables as they wouldn’t be as susceptible to storm or lightening damage as overground cables.
The project was welcomed by Cllr Peter Flynn who said it was good news and would eliminate the power outages which were a problem in the past.
Benefits of the project include an improved supply to all of Mayo, a good electrical infrastructure, and improved resilience, the members heard.
The 79 landowners who are affected by the works have been contacted and at this stage most have given their consent. The ESB however don’t expect to run into difficulties with the remaining landowners, most of whom couldn’t be contacted because they were away. Negotiations with landowners are being carried out by ESB International.
Contractors working on the project have been mobilised since the end of June, Ms Keogh confirmed and the route is being finalised at present.
The good news is that when the project is complete there is scope for further developments once the demand is there. This news was welcomed by Westport Cathaoirleach Myles Staunton. Cllr Staunton also welcomed the fact that the project is still on schedule for a September 2010 finish and that the finance continues to be ringfenced and will not be taken away.
As a representative of Westport Town Council on the electoral area committee, Cllr Staunton brought forward an issue that arose at town council level - that is that the ESB would shop local in terms of materials and labour for this project in an effort to support the local economy.
Following discussions with the IDA in relation to industry investment in Westport, Cllr Staunton said this project would see another box ticked.
