Proposals for an online power exchange allowing independent electricity suppliers to trade surpluses and shortfalls of power were launched yesterday by a Co Longford-based company.

Independent Irish Power Exchange, which will trade as IIPEX.com, plans to facilitate the trade of power imbalances using secure e-mail on the Internet.

The firm's technical director, Mr Peter Duffy, said it had initiated dialogue with a number of groups planning to supply power on the partially deregulated market after February 19th.

While the groups will not be obliged to participate in the exchange, Mr Duffy said they could make substantial savings by trading excess supply on an open market.

"There'll be savings for independent players leading to greater profit levels, as the power will be traded at lower prices," he said.

An energy consultant with Ennercom International in Lisduff, Co Longford, Mr Duffy said IIPEX.com's management would be independent of electricity suppliers.

Mr Con Murphy, an engineer, will be IIPEX.com's managing director. The system would enable suppliers with excess electricity to "spill" power over the National Grid to operators with power shortfalls.

Similar trading systems had been established in the US - in California, Ohio and New York, in particular - and in northern Europe, where the Nordpool exchange in Norway and Sweden had been expanded to include suppliers in Finland and Denmark, Mr Duffy said.

Such a system was anticipated by the Commissioner for Electricity Regulation, Mr Tom Reeves, in his final proposals for a transitional electricity trading and settlement system, which will operate until 2005.