Politics

Energy blackouts ‘possible’ but ‘unlikely’ this winter, Eamon Ryan says

Minister for the Environment compared any potential outages to those caused by storms each year

Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan TD. Photograph: Gareth Chaney/Collins
Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan TD. Photograph: Gareth Chaney/Collins
Eoin O'Donnell
Thu Oct 06 2022 - 16:35

Minister for the Environment Eamon Ryan warned that short, localised power cuts could be necessary to preserve Irish energy supplies this winter, but emphasised “we don’t expect it”.

Speaking on RTÉ's News At One, he acknowledged that “we are tight on supply”.

Mark Foley, chief executive of EirGrid, said that it would take “an extraordinary confluence of events” for power cuts to occur, alongside the publishing of the company’s Generation Capacity Report earlier today.

If blackouts are necessary, EirGrid will determine the length and locations of the outages “in a coordinated, organized way”, although Minister Ryan could not guarantee how much warning customers would be given.

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Mr Ryan compared the potential outages to those caused by storms each year, saying “that happens on a regular basis”.

“Large sections of the country, for a period of hours, may not have power available, and that’s something we’re used to managing… it’s similar in the sense that it would be very short, that it would be limited to certain areas.”

The Minister pledged to “protect the most vulnerable” this winter - “particularly hospitals, or those at home with particular medical needs” - but did not directly address whether the state could provide batteries or backup power facilities to the homes of vulnerable people with essential medical equipment.

Mr Ryan also emphasised the government’s efforts to help households pay for soaring energy bills, drawing attention to last week’s budget measures of three €200 energy credits per household. “I think the first most important thing we need to do is to help every customer through what’s going to be a difficult winter”, he said.

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“There will always be customers in difficulty, the advice is always to engage with your energy company, and with the other agencies which are there to help,” he said. “There are funds and provisions that are there so that those who are in real difficulty or can’t do that top-up… can get support”.

Other plans to help reduce the strain on the nation’s supply include working with large industrial energy users to manage their demand, and to introduce tariffs to incentivise people to generate their own power with solar panels, and to sell the power on.

Addressing the Department’s longer-term vision of managing energy supply, Minister Ryan said backup power generation was being procured, but that they would need to “be clever in the way we use energy, to make sure we manage demand- particularly that we reduce peak time usage, because that saves us money, and reduces the risk of not having enough power”.

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Minister Ryan also pledged to “take a more international approach” to the energy crisis, drawing attention to next week’s meeting with the UK energy minister, and suggesting that supply counties like the UK, US or Norway could be of assistance.