Our Team
The CRU is organised into six divisions reflecting the CRU’s varied economic, customer protection and safety responsibilities in energy, as well as its role as economic regulator of Uisce Éireann.
Divisions
Security of Supply and Wholesale
The Security of Supply and Wholesale Division is leading a programme of actions to ensure a secure energy transition to 2030 and beyond. This includes regulation of wholesale electricity capacity, system services and energy markets with the objective of ensuring there is a sustainable and secure electricity system, providing appropriate signals for investment in new renewable generation, and the low carbon and flexible gas generation capacity that will enable this.
The Division also oversees the wholesale all-island Single Electricity Market (SEM) in co-operation with the Utility Regulator in Belfast.
Networks and Economic Regulation
The Networks and Economic Regulation Division leads our work with Uisce Éireann and energy companies enhancing the CRU’s economic regulation of these critical networks ensuring that they support customers, underpin economic growth and play a transformational role in climate change adaptation and mitigation.
This Division is responsible for regulating the activities of the electricity and gas distribution and transmission operators and asset owners, setting allowed revenues and annual tariffs within the appropriate incentive frameworks to ensure that all investment in networks is efficient and delivers the best outcome for customers.
The economic regulation of services provided by Uisce Éireann seeks to ensure that Uisce Éireann is run as efficiently as possible while providing appropriate water and waste water services to its customers. The CRU approves Uisce Éireann's Water Charges Plan which reflects the allowed revenue, connection charging policy and the domestic and non-domestic tariff regime.
Customer Policy and Protection (incl. Legal)
Functions to empower and protect customers are part of the Customer Policy and Protection Division. The Division is responsible for overseeing all aspects of competition, licensing and consumer protection in the energy retail markets in Ireland. Responsibility for the overall coordination of the National Smart Metering Programme as well as the provision of a dispute resolution service for energy and water customers also sits within this Division.
This Division is also leading on empowering customers to participate in and benefit from the energy transition, including developing new regulatory frameworks to facilitate active customers, energy communities and aggregators.
The Division also has a general role in advising the organisation on all legal matters.
Energy Safety
The Energy Safety Division holds a key oversight role in protecting public safety and the prevention of major accidents in Ireland’s energy sector. The Division is responsible for safety regulation of gas (networks, supply, storage, use and liquefied petroleum gas distribution), petroleum (upstream onshore and offshore exploration and extraction), gas installers and electrical contractors.
Functions are discharged through:
- review and input into energy safety policy and legislative amendments;
- safety case assessment
- analysis of energy safety trends;
- conducting inspections, audits, incident and potential illegal gas/electrical works investigations; and
- taking enforcement action where warranted.
Operations and Organisational Development
The Operations and Organisational Development Division is responsible for supporting and empowering CRU teams to achieve outcomes set out in the Strategic Plan.
The Division includes:
• Human Resources
• Information Technology/Facilities
• Finance and Governance
• Communications and Public Affairs
• Business support
These functions focus on implementing evolving public sector and other best practice guidance and strategy for the organisation. Also overseeing preparation and implementation of the CRU’s Strategic Plan, the Division has a particular focus on organisational design and development, maintaining the highest governance standards and managing relationships with stakeholders.
Decarbonisation
The Decarbonisation Division develops and operates regulatory frameworks required to enable the decarbonisation of Ireland’s energy sector in line with Government policy.
The Division is responsible for developing regulatory frameworks for the offshore renewables, district heating and other new and emerging sectors such as hydrogen. The Division is also responsible for electricity connection policy, interconnector regulation, projects of common interest, and coordination of CRU’s actions under Ireland’s Climate Action Plan
Commissioners
Commissioner Jim Gannon - Chairperson
Jim has been a member of the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) since October 2019 and was appointed Chairperson in February 2023. His lead responsibilities include Consumer Policy and Protection (incl. Legal) and Operations and Organisational Development. Jim previously served as the CEO of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, and before that role worked for 15 years in the private sector within the engineering and energy industry. Jim is a graduate of NUI Galway, the University of Wales Aberystwyth and he holds an MBA from the UCD Smurfit School of Business.
Commissioner Fergal Mulligan
Fergal has been a member of the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) since May 2024. His lead responsibilities include Energy Safety and Networks and Economic Regulation. Fergal previously worked as the Director of the Digital Connectivity Office in the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications and prior to that led the delivery of the Government programme to ensure all citizens have access to high-speed broadband under the National Broadband Plan. He previously held a senior management role with the telecoms regulator ComReg and various accounting and audit positions, including with PricewaterhouseCoopers in Dublin and Melbourne. He is a Chartered Certified Accountant since 1998 and has in recent years received diplomas in Corporate Governance from UCD and Economics and Competition Law from Kings College London.
Commissioner Tanya Harrington
Dr. Harrington has been a member of the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) since September 2024. Her lead responsibilities include Decarbonisation and Security of Supply and Wholesale. She previously worked as Chief Regulatory Affairs Officer at An Post, where she was responsible for economic regulatory risk management and compliance. Dr. Harrington has held leadership positions with Powerscourt, advising a range of Ireland’s largest companies on matters of public policy, government affairs and economic regulation across a range of regulated sectors. At the NTR Foundation she delivered on the Foundation’s mandate to address the challenges posed by climate change, resource sustainability and security of energy supply. She has also served as a Ministerial Advisor at the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources and the Department of Transport. She is a former Head of Energy at IBEC. She holds a Doctorate in Governance QUB, an MSSc in European Integration QUB, and BA in History and German, UCD.
Directors
Phil Hemmingway - Director of Decarbonisation
Phil is the Director of the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) Decarbonisation Division having joined the organisation in 2020. Phil oversees the CRU offshore economic, electricity connections policy, district heating and new & emerging regulatory frameworks teams. Phil previously held the following roles: Head of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) Research & Technology Department; Assistant Professor at UCD; energy consultant at RPS Group and Manager at Science Foundation Ireland. He holds Bachelors (engineering) & Doctoral (energy) degrees from UCD.
Karen Kavanagh - Director of Networks and Economic Regulation
Karen was appointed as the Director of Networks and Economic Regulation in Feb 2022, having previously been Director of Economic Regulation (Water) and Compliance. Karen has over 20 years’ experience in economic regulation across the utilities and telecommunications sectors. She has a BSc. in Applied Science and a PhD. in Physics from the Technological University Dublin. She also holds an MSc. in Economic Policy Studies from Trinity College Dublin and an Advanced Diploma in Quasi-Judicial Decision-Making from King's Inns.
Loretta Lambkin - Director of Operations and Organisational Development
Loretta joined the CRU in 2019 as the Director of Operations and Organisational Development. Prior to joining CRU, Loretta was the Chief Officer of An Bord Pleanála (6 years). She has also held the posts of acting Chief Executive and Director of Marketing for the Dublin Docklands Development Authority and Marketing Manager at Diageo plc. Loretta is a graduate of Trinity College Dublin (B.A. Geography and Sociology) and UCD (M.A. Geography) and holds an MBA from the University of Maryland, USA.
John Melvin - Director of Security of Supply and Wholesale
John was appointed as the Director of Energy Networks and Legal in 2016 and is currently Director of Security of Supply and Wholesale. John is responsible for overseeing gas and electricity Security of Supply and the wholesale all-island electricity market (SEM) in cooperation with the Utility Regulator in Belfast. He is a graduate of University College Dublin where he completed a B.Eng in Mechanical Engineering, and also holds a M.Sc. in Finance from the Smurfit School of Business.
Karen Trant - Director of Customer Policy & Protection
Karen joined the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) in 2006. Karen was appointed Director of Energy Networks and Legal in 2018 and more recently has been appointed as Director of Customer Policy & Protection a new division within the CRU. Karen has responsibility for Retail Markets, Active Customers & Clean Energy Package including Smart Metering. Karen also has responsibility for Customer Care, Compliance and Enforcement and remains Director of Legal which provides advice to the organisation on all legal matters. Karen is a graduate of Queen’s University Belfast where she completed an LLB in Law and is a qualified solicitor with the Law Society of Ireland. Karen also holds an Advanced Diploma in Corporate, White Collar and Regulatory Crime (Kings Inns) and a Diploma in Regulatory Law and Practice (Law Society of Ireland).
Loretta Joyce- Director of Energy Safety
Loretta joined the CRU in 2016. Loretta was appointed Director of Energy Safety in 2023. Loretta previously held roles in the CRU as Compliance and Enforcement Senior Manager, Gas Safety Framework Manager and Safety Supervisory Body Manager. She has also worked as an Inspector in the Environmental Protection Agency and Waste Enforcement Manager on behalf of local authorities as well as in the private medical diagnostics sector. Loretta holds a B.Sc in Biotechnology and Masters in Environmental Protection as well as a Postgraduate Diploma in Public Management.