Roscommon County Council is to give its support to plans to significantly upgrade the electricity supply in the north Connacht area.
Planning was lodged with An Bord Pleanala earlier this year for the Eirgird project.
The underground cable will run to the Tonroe Substation in Ballaghaderreen from the Moy Substation in Ballina, which is a total of 60 kilometres.
The new powerline is due to enhance the electricity network in the area and will connect new renewable generation onto the national grid.
As part of the planning process, Roscommon County Council's Chief Executive was asked for a report on the project and the July meeting of the local authority was told that Eugene Cummins is supportive of the development in principle, but that is subject to some conditions, such as the grid connection being on the road verge and not the carriageway; the cable route is agreed with Roscommon County Council; dust monitoring and environmental monitoring as well as development contributions.
The works in Roscommon will involve trench excavation along the N5 and associated routes and the Tonroe substation works are also expected to last 18-24 months
If the project is approved, it is expected work will begin in quarter four of 2023 with the cable in operation in 2026.
