The ESB is close to winning a major contract worth $750 USD to run an electricity grid in the southern US states of Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi and parts of Texas and Florida.
The ESB has won 'preferred bidding status' for the network and now looks very likely to win the contract.
The company beat off stiff competition from 10 other bodies for the contract and will create some 250 jobs when it establishes a local company to run the grid.
The contract will see the company act as system and market operator in the southeast states and will manage a system that covers some 10 per cent of US electricity sales.
Welcoming the news, Padraig McManus, ESB Chief Executive said it was a 'huge vote of confidence' in the company and said the ESB's international policy was key to the company's profitability.
The ESB beat competition from the US, New Zealand and Scandinavia to effectively win the contract.
