Gas Networks Ireland, formerly Bord Gáis Éireann (BGE), has been found guilty of breaching a number of the conditions of its Natural Gas Transmission Licence, the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) has announced.

On 26 October 2014, the CER received an email from a former employee of BGÉ, which alleged an "act of serious financial impropriety" by a senior member of staff within Gas Networks Ireland. The allegations were also communicated to the Utility Regulator for Northern Ireland (UREGNI) due to the dual jurisdiction operations of Bord Gáis Éireann through its subsidiary in Northern Ireland.

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The whistle-blower alleged that the senior member of staff deliberately concealed from the Board cost overruns owed to the contractor engaged to construct the Barnakyle to Coonagh West Gas Pipeline and that these monies owed to the contractor were subsequently paid through other gas infrastructure projects in Ireland that the company were involved in without observing due process or the necessary approval by the then Board of Bord Gáis Éireann.

Licence holders have a duty to comply with the conditions of their licences. This duty is owed by the licencee to the customers it serves. Having investigated the allegations, the CER determined that Gas Networks Ireland breached a number of the conditions of the licence that it held.

Commissioner Aoife MacEvilly said: "These actions were a clear breach of trust and the CER has taken steps to ensure that the effect of the breaches has been reversed in terms of any cost overruns being redistributed back to customers and to ensure that these breaches are not repeated.

In breaching its licence conditions, Gas Networks Ireland failed in its duty to supply accurate information to the CER to the detriment of its customers."

(CD)