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Eirgrid has said the risk of power outages is a possibility in the coming months, as demand for power supply soared to new levels this week.
Record demand for power dating back to 2010 has been broken twice in the last week, Eirgrid said, confirming that an amber alert was issued Wednesday night.
“An amber alert is issued when a single event gives rise to a reasonable possibility that the demand from the power system will not be met,” confirmed an Eirgrid spokesperson.
Technical failures at the Moneypoint and Whitegate power plants were partly responsible for the alert, Eirgrid explained.
The company, which is in charge of the national electricity grid, has said that December is when the peak of electricity demand occurs within the state.
In a statement, Eirgrid confirmed that if the high rates of forced generator outage experienced in the past year continue through the winter period, “there is a risk of further system alerts” and potential outages.
Eirgrid confirmed that the closure of two peat burning plants in the Midlands is factored into its forecast of potential power supply problems in the coming months.
A drop in wind-generated power, as occurred before Wednesday’s Amber Alert, could result in increased pressure on an already overloaded system.
Due to the impact of Covid-19, some generators have not had maintenance cuts in the summer months as usual and as a consequence, “there are cuts of large generators that extend until December and also in January.
“Typically, there would be no large generator outages in these months due to higher load levels,” said Eirgrid.
There will also be outages at some power plants that will continue until early 2021 due to “unavailability of specialized resources and materials from abroad.”
The West Offaly Power Station in Shannonbridge will close today and the Lough Ree station in Lanesborough will do the same next week.
There have been calls from opposition TDs to reuse both peat-burning power plants, and Labor leader Alan Kelly said alternative uses “must be found” for the two closed plants.
“We all recognize the climate impact of peat burning, but the rapid shutdown of power plants will have a devastating impact on communities that depend on the economic and social contribution of the seasons. The closure of Shannonbridge today and Lanesboro next week without a clear plan for the future is deeply concerning.
“With a rapid shutdown underway, the government must seek alternative uses for these large facilities. These are public facilities through our ESB property. Options such as transferring ownership to local authorities or bidding for alternative uses should be examined.
“It would be a huge waste of infrastructure to be totally abandoned and dismantled so quickly and deeply damaging to their communities. We know that the impact of deindustrialization had on the rust belt in the United States and the former mining communities in the north of England. we can leave the communities, ”said Rep. Kelly.
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