The ESB board is expected to discuss today the appointment of a successor to its chief executive, Mr Ken O'Hara. Directors are likely to look both outside and within the company for a replacement for Mr O'Hara, who said on Tuesday that he would retire next July.

There is no obvious internal candidate for the job, but several top tier executives are likely to be considered, including the company's finance director, Mr Tony Donnelly; its director of international investments, Mr D≤nal Curtin; and its managing director of engineering and commercial business, Mr Seβn Wyse. More junior executives may also be considered for the post.

The selection process will begin shortly and the vacancy will be advertised. The Government and the Department of Public Enterprise may favour the appointment of a person from the private sector, because the company may be floated on the stock exchange soon. It is thought that Irish and international external candidates may be considered, although there is an acceptance that finding a suitable figure will be difficult.

The job is regarded as challenging, not least because of the ESB's sensitive industrial relations environment. It will also be crucial for the successful candidate to have the ability to manage relations with the Government, which recently blocked a proposed ESB bid for a Polish business worth €1.4 billion (£1.1 billion). In a decision seen as a severe blow to Mr O'Hara and his management team, the Government said the Polish deal was too large for the company.

Mr O'Hara will be 63 when he leaves the company and have over 40 years service. His pension will be substantial and based on his current package of just under £250,000.

The chief executive's salary was the subject of controversy when he was appointed four years ago. Mr O'Hara had been offered the job on a salary set under the Buckley guidelines for state company executive pay. But the implementation of the Buckley review was deferred by the Government and the ESB board was forced to offer him a smaller package based on an earlier deal. That meant that Mr O'Hara's original salary was worth about £100,000.

He subsequently got a significant pay rise when the Buckley recommendations were implemented. According to the ESB's latest annual report, his salary rose to £188,504 in 2000, from £101,132 in 1999. His overall remuneration package rose to £249,767 from £152,072 in the period. Because Mr O'Hara will have three years' service at the higher rate, it will be reflected in his pension when he retires.

It emerged yesterday that the ESB was one of eight companies shortlisted by the Government of Uganda to bid for a 20-year concession to run its electricity generation and distribution firms.

The distribution concession had revenues of $46.2 million (€51 million) last year and the distribution concession had an asset value of $307 million. With 160,000 clients, the Ugandan business is much smaller than the Polish one, which had 2.5 million customers.