Ireland stands at a critical juncture on the path toward a cleaner, greener economy, as policymakers strive to simultaneously meet climate commitments, protect energy security, and deliver a just transition for consumers. In the first lecture of the 2023 REthink Energy lecture series, which is co-organised by the IIEA and ESB, Professor David Newbery delivers an address on the subject of Electricity in Ireland: transition and the energy crisis, when he assesses the state of play of Ireland’s electricity sector, identifies the core challenges facing the electricity market and shares his insights on how best to overcome them.

Professor Newbery is an Emeritus Professor in Economics at the University of Cambridge, where he also serves as Director of The Energy Policy Research Group (EPRG). Along with his stellar academic work on commodity price stabilisation – which saw him co-author a book with Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz – Professor Newbery specialises in energy economics and has written extensively on the regulation of electricity markets. His CV also includes time spent as a member of the Environmental Economics academic panel for the UK Government’s Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA); an occasional role as a consultant to the World Bank; and a 10-year stint on Ireland’s Single Electricity Market Committee.