Sir, – In 1995, when as a consultant to a World Bank project I started to engage with the Lithuanian state power system, it and the ESB shared the distinction of being among the few remaining state-owned vertically-integrated power monopolies in Europe. Now, nearly 20 years later, only one of these companies resembles a Soviet-era monopoly. No prizes for guessing which one it is.
As long as our Government lacks the stomach to move our energy supply out of the reach of long-established interest-groups, this vital part of our infrastructure will remain vulnerable to the sort of actions with which Irish electricity consumers are now being threatened. – Yours, etc,
PETER KELLY,
Sandford Road, Dublin 6.