Temporary Emergency Generation
In a rapidly changing world, our electricity system must deal with many competing pressures in parallel. Utilities and policymakers around the globe are confronted by an ‘energy trilemma’, as they try to deliver on three fronts: improve energy sustainability through decarbonisation, ensure security and reliability of energy supply, while minimising consumer costs.
Ireland faces these same challenges. As we work to achieve our long-term objective of net-zero carbon emissions, our population and economy are expanding rapidly, placing pressure on balancing electricity demand with supply. With demand for electricity rising sharply in recent years, the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) announced in 2021 a suite of actions to enhance the security of Ireland’s electricity supply. One such measure is the installation of up to 650 MW of temporary emergency generation (TEG) at various sites across the country.
Temporary emergency generation (TEG) has been installed at the request of CRU by ESB and others at a number of sites as a short-term solution to enhance security of electricity supply.
These generating plants will be connected to the system for a limited number of years until new, enduring power generation plants are connected in the late 2020s. They do not participate in the energy markets, and as such cannot set the wholesale electricity price and will only operate at the request of the system operator. From a standing start, they can reach full output in just 15 minutes, ensuring a rapid response to meet electricity demand challenges. Operation is limited to 500 hours of operation per year, and the expectation is that they will in fact operate very infrequently.
Delivering resilient infrastructure is a key pillar of ESB’s Net Zero by 2040 strategy. Working in close collaboration with partners and stakeholders, we committed to deliver 450 MW of temporary emergency generation (TEG) plant split between our existing sites of North Wall in Dublin and Shannonbridge in Offaly on behalf of the CRU. ESB provided a team of people with the necessary skills and experience to oversee the construction and commissioning of TEG at these sites.
Together with industry partners General Electric, Metlen, APC and their sub-contractors, we constructed, commissioned and connected these generation units to the grid. In December 2023, 193 MW of gas-fired TEG was connected to the system at North Wall, Dublin. This plant can be at full output within 15 minutes and can supply 3% of Ireland’s peak demand. A further 224 MW of TEG is available to operate at our site in Shannonbridge, Co. Offaly, since August 2024.
An additional 200 MW of TEG has also been committed by other electricity market participants at other locations.
Our TEG plants are available to operate as required by EirGrid, enhancing Ireland’s security of electricity supply. The TEG units will act as an insurance policy against sudden disruptions to electricity generation, such as the loss of supply from a major power generation plant or a sudden fall in wind output. The availability of this additional capacity provides reassurance that the system can withstand any potential future stresses. In large part thanks to these measures, Eirgrid has stated that the risk of a disruption to power supply during periods of high energy demand this winter is lower than in previous years.