Issued: 7:35pm Friday 7 February 2025
ESB Networks has now restored power to over 762,000 customers and is completely focused on restoring power to about 5,500 customers remaining without electricity, conscious of the enormous impact this has had on the families and businesses affected since Storm Éowyn.
ESB Chief Executive, Paddy Hayes, would like to take this opportunity to address concerns raised following a media interview earlier this week. Mr Hayes says:
“I can only imagine the hardship for customers who have been without electricity for many days in the aftermath of Storm Éowyn and my heart goes out to them. I can understand why, in answering a question about costs, my response might have caused concern. I had absolutely no intention of being insensitive or adding to the stress facing customers at this difficult time. I should have made it clear that it is far too early either to assess the costs of repairing the damage caused by this storm, or to address how those costs will be met.”
The costs of network repairs from Storm Éowyn will not impact on electricity prices during 2025 and, in the longer term, the Regulator will review these with ESB Networks before the composition of network charges from October 2026 onwards is determined.
The hurricane-force winds of Storm Éowyn resulted in extensive damage to the electricity network, far beyond anything experienced previously. It was the extent and the nature of this damage which resulted in so many people losing supply, with many parts of the network destroyed by falling trees. This is the reason that, despite tremendous and sustained efforts by ESB Networks teams, supported by contracting partners and international support, some customers in the worst hit areas still remain without power.
Concluding, Mr. Hayes continued:
“I would like to acknowledge again how difficult this has been for those customers who have been without electricity, despite the tireless work being done by all in ESB Networks to restore power to every single customer."
ENDS/
Notes to the Editor
There has been a query relating to Storm Ophelia as a reference point. Storm Ophelia in October 2017 resulted in 385,000 customer losses which is around half of the 768,000 customer losses experienced in Storm Éowyn. Following on from Storm Ophelia, ESB Networks calculated the incremental cost associated with that storm and engaged with the Regulator in relation to those costs. Following examination by the Regulator, a total one-off charge of around €7 (seven euro) per customer was recovered in the year from October 2018.
As a semi-state company, once taxes, interest and dividends are paid, all of ESB’s profits are reinvested in network and generation infrastructure.