Eirgrid forecasts reduced risk of winter power outages

The body which manages Ireland's electricity grid has forecast there will be a reduced risk of power outages during the peak winter season, from next month to the beginning of April.

Eirgrid said there would adequate generation capacity and an improved outlook over the coming months compared to previous years.

The organisation said: "The risk of insufficient generation being available to meet to demand is now notably lower than it has been recent years."

It said possibility of outages had fallen to 0.8 hours this winter compared to 1.1 hours last winter, 3.6 hours the winter before that and 21 hours the previous winter.

Eirgrid said the generation of power had improved due to the addition of 275 megawatts of new gas fired plants, 63 megawatts of new batteries and an extra 809 megawatts of wind and solar generation. One thousand megawatts is enough to power 500,000 customers.

The organisation’s Director of System Operations Diarmuid Gillespie said Eirgrid had also seen the impact from solar panels on the rooftops of residential properties which has added to generation.

Eirgrid has also been able to tap into four large generators powered by gas and kerosene which can deliver up to 650 megawatts of power over four sites.

The organisation has the option to ask data centres to stop using power if there is a risk of demand exceeding supply, although it has not done so to date.

In addition to power generated in Ireland, Ireland also relies on four electricity interconnectors and one gas interconnector to provide additional supplies.

There is no gas storage in the Republic, but the State is planning to establish a floating gas storage terminal.

There have also been plans for a private liquid natural gas terminal for Tarbert in Co Kerry, which has been subject to environmental objections.

Last winter, the peak demand for electricity was below Eirgrid’s forecast due to relatively mild weather.

A drop of one degree Celsius results in an additional 55 megawatts of increased demand meaning that electricity demand in the winter is heavily influenced by weather conditions.