International accountancy firm Deloitte will examine the future of the ESB and the wider energy market on behalf of the Government.

Minister for Communications Noel Dempsey has asked the consultants to assess whether the company is too dominant in the energy market and in what ways this might be addressed.

Unions and management are fearful the consultants will recommend the sale or part sale of the ESB. Management have spoken before about making sure the ESB remains intact.

Tender documents released a few months ago by the Department refer specifically to the position of the ESB and its future structure. Mr Dempsey has refused to rule out the sale of ESB's 19 power stations, although he has expressed resistance to any sale of the grid system, which is owned by ESB

A Department spokeswoman said the commissioning to Deloitte was "subject to agreement of contract" and this would be completed after a period of 14 days in accordance with new EU procurement regulations.

It is understood several large consultancies from Ireland and abroad were shortlisted for the contract. It is not clear whether Deloitte Ireland will handle the business alone or call in expertise from its international network. The value of the contract has not been disclosed.

Mr Dempsey has previously committed himself to publishing the result, most likely later this year. The ESB has agreed to co-operate fully with the consultants. The Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) is likely to be consulted.

The CER is conducting a review of the ESB's return on capital. This relates to ESB's distribution and transportation system, which is an effective monopoly.

The CER carries out such a review every five years.

Meanwhile, the Department of Finance has again invited electricity providers to tender for the business of several Government departments and agencies.

A previous batch of contracts were shared between Energia and ESB Independent Energy. The value of the latest contracts was not disclosed.