SEMO is the market operator responsible for the administration of the Single Electricity Market. The organization is managed as a contractual joint venture between EirGrid, the transmission system operator for the Republic of Ireland, and the System Operator for Northern Ireland (SONI). SEMO is licensed and regulated cooperatively by the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) in Ireland and the Northern Ireland Authority for Utility Regulation (NIAUR).
In August 2004 a memorandum of understanding was signed by the CER and NIAER.The memorandum of understanding established a series of principles for the development of a single wholesale electricity market for the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.In November 2004 a development framework for the All Island Market for Electricity was agreed upon by the Irish Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources (DCMNR), the Northern Ireland Department of Enterprise, Trade and Development (DETI), the CER and the NIAER.An additional memorandum of understanding was agreed upon in June 2005 between the respective transmission system operators in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. ESB National Grid (ESBNG), now EirGrid, and SONI commited to combining their resources to work cooperatively towards the establishment of a single electricity market.The agreement between EirGrid and SONI to establish the market was formally acknowledged and approved by the CER and NIAER on the 10th of June 2005.
The SEM Establishment Programme commenced in 2005 with a clear focus to bring about the single electricity market. Managed by both EirGrid and SONI the SEM Establishment Programme was responsible for the establishment of SEMO and the systems and processes necessary to operate the new market. The Programme encompassed three broad project areas: Single Electricity Market Implementation, Single Electricity Market Operator Establishment and Transmission System Operator Readiness. For more on SEM Establishment and the enduring project please see SEM Establishment Day +1
Registered Addresses
SONI Limited
Registered in Northern Ireland No. NI 38715
120 Malone Road
Belfast, BT9 5HT
Northern Ireland
EirGrid plc
Registered in the Republic of Ireland No. 338522, VAT No. IE 6358522H
27 Lower Fitzwilliam Street
Dublin 2
Ireland
SEMO VAT Registration Numbers are IE 9657517I and 906423049 for the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland respectively.
The EirGrid Board of Directors are Bernie Gray, Dermot Byrne, Niamh Cahill, Emer Daly, William Egenton, David Mackay, Martina Moloney, Jane Williams and Cormac MacDonnchadha.
SEMO is a joint venture between EirGrid plc and SONI Limited
