Increased competition in the electricity market has prompted the ESB to seriously review the number of events it sponsors around the State.
The company said in the new competitive climate the number of events would have to be significantly reduced, although which events will depend on the outcome of an internal review, to be completed next month.
The review will look at the company's whole sponsorship "policy and portfolio" and all events will be examined. The company spends several million euro each year on events and while any savings will be relatively small, ESB management believes it is necessary to look at its sponsorship policy.
The ESB chief executive, Mr Padraig McManus, is expected to get a copy of the review within weeks.
ESB currently sponsors a number of high-profile national events, among them: the ESB/Rehab People of the Year Awards;
the ESB National Media Awards;
the Irish Times/ESB Theatre Awards;
the ESB Community Games;
the ESB Irish basketball team.
A spokesman said all of these sponsorships would be looked at in the context of "fine tuning the sponsorship'" and "more accurately targeting the key audiences relevant to ESB's business".
He added that one of the tasks would be to re-structure the sponsorship portfolio so "it delivered a better return for the company over a reduced field of activity".
The energy sector in Ireland is undergoing change through deregulation and ESB feels this process of change necessitates the sponsorship review.
"As competition enters the electricity supply market ESB's ability to engage in broad sponsorship will be curtailed by regulatory constraints," he said.
The review comes at a time of increasing sponsorship of major events by large companies. A recent report by the consulting group, Amárach, predicted a 5 per cent growth in sponsorship this year. The Rugby World Cup and the Special Olympics are the two events regarded as the best sponsorship opportunities, said the report.
