- Storm Éowyn brought unprecedented, widespread and extensive damage to electricity infrastructure resulting in 768,000 customers losing supply earlier today
- As at 5:25pm this evening, supply has been restored to 143,000 customers; however a further 625,000 remain without supply
- With Met Éireann Red and Orange wind warnings fully lifted, ESB Networks crews and partner contractors are now deployed, assessing damage at fault sites and commencing restoration
- Power restoration will continue into the evening and commence once again at first light tomorrow morning, and we expect to make good progress restoring supplies over the weekend and into next week
- Given the extent of the damage nationwide, we anticipate full restoration will take more than a week in the worst impacted areas. Estimated restoration times (ERTs) will be provided as network faults are assessed and these will be available to view throughout Saturday and Sunday on www.PowerCheck.ie
- An Important Public Safety Message: If you come across fallen wires or damaged electricity network, never, ever touch or approach these as they are LIVE and extremely dangerous. Please report any damage to electricity infrastructure by caling 1800 372 999
Issued: 5:40pm on Friday, 24th January 2025
Extreme, damaging and destructive winds associated with Storm Éowyn have caused widespread and extensive damage to the electricity network across the country with approximately 625,000 homes, farms and businesses (as at 5:25pm) without power, down from a peak of 768,000 customers without power earlier today.
The impact on customers and damage to the electricity network nationwide is unprecedented.
With Met Éireann Red and Orange wind warnings fully lifted, ESB Networks crews and partner contractors are now deployed where safe to do so, assessing damage at fault sites and restoring supply where possible. Power restoration will continue into the evening and commence once again at first light tomorrow morning, and we expect to make good progress restoring supplies over the weekend and into next week.
However, from our experience of previous significant weather events and due to the severity of Storm Éowyn, we expect that power restoration will take more than a week in the worst impacted areas. Estimated restoration times (ERTs) will provided once our teams have damage-assessed fault sites and these will be available and updated throughout Saturday and Sunday on www.PowerCheck.ie.
It is important that any impacted customers who use electrically powered medical devices contact their healthcare professional to make alternative arrangements if necessary.
An Important Public Safety Message: If you come across fallen wires or damaged electricity network, never, ever touch or approach these as they are LIVE and extremely dangerous. Please report any damage to electricity infrastructure by calling 1800 372 999.
ENDS/
Notes to editor:
How ESB Networks restores power following a storm similar to Storm Éowyn:
Firstly, our crews make safe fallen, low hanging wires and other damage to electricity networks. This may mean that these lines have to be switched out until they can be repaired.
Where possible, we restore supply remotely from our National Distribution Control Centre using alternative power lines where available.
Prior to initiating repairs works, our Network Technicians carry out full assessments of network damage, so that power can be restored systematically and safely.
Crews are initially dispatched to repair lines that will return service to the largest number of customers in the least amount of time. ESB Networks focusses initially on high voltage transmission and medium voltage distribution lines where significant numbers of customers can be restored at once.
The next step is to restore the low voltage network that serves individual homes and smaller groups of customers. Typically, this is a slower process as there can be large numbers of small faults on a line serving a small cluster of customers, often less than ten properties. Each individual repair can be time consuming (clearing fallen trees, debris, broken poles etc) and only restores power to small customer numbers who are served by that low voltage line on the network.