Bord Gáis is to create 500 jobs as part of a €3 billion investment in Irish energy projects over the next three years.
The company said the imminent opening of the 445-megawatt Whitegate Power Station in Co Cork and its recent acquisition of wind energy firm SWS represented major milestones in the company’s growth.
At the publication of its 2009 annual report today, chief executive John Mullins said: “Over the next decade the company will invest €3 billion in the Irish economy, creating significant employment and substantially growing the value of our assets.”
Bord Gáis plans to invest €500 million in wind farms for SWS, which it bought in last December, between now and 2013. It said 17 windfarms will rolled out across the country from Donegal to Kerry over the next three years.
The €400 million electricity generating station at Whitegate will have the capacity to supply electricity to 400,000 homes.
Minister for Energy Eamon Ryan is expected to seek a partial break up of Bord Gáis in a move that could see the State-owned company face competition in the domestic natural gas market.
Mr Ryan is currently considering a report on an EU directive designed to boost competition in member state's energy markets that includes a proposal to restructure Bord Gáis, the chief supplier of natural gas to the Republic's households.
The company's distribution network, which transmits natural gas around the country, is likely to be taken over by a new Bord Gáis subsidiary that will have its own board and be largely independent of its parent.
The move will be designed to increase competition across the Republic's natural gas markets.
Of the 500 jobs, some 250 will be in home services, including installation, energy saving for homes and office jobs, with the other 250 in the construction of the wind farms. The company said 350,000 customers have switched to Bord Gais Energy bringing the total number of customers to over one million.
Additional reporting by PA