Works to reconnect thousands of premises left without electricity are not due to be completed until next Thursday, as ESB crews bolstered by increasing support from abroad enter the “most difficult phase of restoration”.
As of Friday night, approximately 57,000 premises remained without power since Storm Éowyn caused what has been described as “colossal damage” to the electricity grid.
ESB has now entered the low-voltage restoration phase, where networks serving individual homes and smaller groups of customers, primarily in rural areas where there is “substantial damage” on the ground, are being repaired or rebuilt.
Approximately 3,000 network technicians, including more than 400 from abroad, are deployed, focusing on key areas.
Ireland among 79 states united in condemning Trump sanctions on International Criminal Court
Donald Trump’s first 16 days: Pardons, 956 immigration arrests and everything he’s done so far
Ireland name team to play Scotland: Live reaction as Peter O’Mahony is selected for ‘experience’
Man guilty of manslaughter over pub melee death of Dylan McCarthy
In the north and west, including Galway, Cavan, Leitrim and Mayo, remain among the worst affected.
Technicians from abroad are continuously arriving, with a crew of 25 due from Scotland on Friday while a further 50 technicians are due to arrive from Germany this weekend.
The majority of the remaining outages are located in rural areas where paths must be cleared to access networks which require complete rebuilding in some cases due to significant damage.
It is the most difficult phase of power restoration where, in some cases, crews of between 10 and 30 technicians are spending days restoring power to one customer at a time.
Power was restored to 11,000 premises between Thursday and Friday evening, while overall 694,000 premises have been reconnected since last Friday after high-voltage and medium-voltage lines serving the highest number of customers were prioritised.
It is understood ESB does not expect all 74,000 premises to be reconnected until February 5th or 6th, meaning some households could be without power for almost two weeks in total.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin told reporters in Cork on Friday that he “fully understands the anger and frustration” of people who have gone without electricity for a week following Storm Éowyn.
“Obviously, as you go more rural (for line repairs) it gets more challenging. The numbers you can bring back (to the grid) with every repair is smaller.”
Mr Martin said a meeting took place on Friday to “evaluate the impact of the storm” and consider related issues that have to be addressed.
“I have already asked for work to be done to accelerate investment in the (energy) grid – to future-proof it and make it more resilient,” Mr Martin said.
The Fianna Fáil leader said the number and severity of storms has increased over the last decade and climate change is “having an impact to a significant degree on our country”.
[ Powerless in rural Ireland: I love my EV but Storm Éowyn has made me think twiceOpens in new window ]
“We have to adjust and adapt,” he added. “In the next National Development Plan there will be significant funding for the size of that adaptation. We are doing the flood schemes, but an awful lot more needs to be provided to deal with the impact of climate change.”
Separately, approximately 20,000 homes, primarily in Galway, Mayo, Roscommon, Leitrim, Monaghan and Donegal, remain without broadband with Eir saying it is working to restore these “as quickly as possible”.
Fewer than 800 premises remain without water as of Friday afternoon, down from a peak of more than 200,000. However, 11 boil water notices have been issued in some areas as supplies were restored, affecting 50,000 customers.
Some of the notices are not expected to be lifted until next Friday.
Alternative supplies will remain in place where water has not yet been restored, according to Uisce Éireann.
Since last Friday, 40,000 five-litre bottles of water have been delivered to vulnerable people and emergency response hubs, the number of which now stands at 380.
- Sign up for push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
- Join The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
- Listen to our Inside Politics podcast for the best political chat and analysis
