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SOME 60,000 TO 80,000 ESB customers will remain without power overnight, following damage to the electricity network in the storm yesterday.
Since last night, crews have restored power to over 145,000 customers. However 115,000 are currently without power after what has been described by the company as “one of the worst storms to hit Ireland since records began”.
At one stage yesterday, a quarter of a million people were without power. Crews from Northern Ireland Electricity and ESB contractors supported crews to repair the damage.
“This is one of the biggest clean up operations I have ever experienced, and we have pulled resources from every part of the company and beyond to get the lights back on as quickly as we can,” Denis Cambridge, ESB Divisional Manager for the South, said. “It is a mammoth task.”
In Cork and Kerry alone, there are over 3,200 individual faults to get to and Cambridge said crews are “working against the clock before the next of the bad weather sets in”.
Public hazards and repairs to the transmission network have been prioritised throughout today and significant progress has been made. All of the key transmission stations and circuits are now operating as usual.
The company said that availability of materials and daylight hours are constraining factors. Approximately 1,000 wooden poles are needed along with over 250km of conductors and 400 transformers. Nationally, there are approximately 2,000 locations where timber has to be cleared from lines.
Customers are being asked to report any safety concerns relating to the network to the ESB Networks emergency line at 1850372999.
Severe weather
(Image: Mark Stedman/Photocll Ireland)
Earlier today, Minister Phil Hogan said additional funding will be made available to repair damage done by the recent weather. However, there is more on the way, with Met Éireann forecasting heavy rain and galeforce winds tomorrow with sleet or snow in parts of Connacht, Ulster and north Leinster.
In Clare, a flood and storm warning has been issued in advance of the severe weather conditions expected over the next 48 hours. The county council said that given the high tides, projected high rainfall and strong gale to storm force winds there is significant risk of river, coastal and tidal flooding.
The council has also warned of potential travel disruption on the county’s roads as a result of trees falling that have already been already compromised by yesterday’s storm.
A tankering arrangement in areas currently affected by water shortages in the county is being implemented. Supplies to Shannon Town and Newmarket on Fergus will be restricted from 7pm this evening until 8am tomorrow to allow reservoir levels to be recharged following the restoration of the electricity supply.
In Limerick, a boil water notice was issued earlier today as power outages affected water pumping stations.
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ESB are working very hard good on them fingers crossed everyone will be back on soon.
Rebecca believe me they are well paid
And sothey should be…
Wouldn’t you if you worked 20 hour days
That’s the spirit Don you’d work over time for normal pay ? Good man fair play. I know know one in the ESB but I’m sure they’ve families who they probably haven’t seen since this began and are deservedly paid the money they’re on because of this. Fair f*cks to the crews out restoring power keep them lit lads.
So what’s your point??
On double time 120 euro per hour
And so they should be Don the weather is awful out there and they are working hard in dangerous conditions.
Baz – time for bed young lad. Don – if your that worried about the pay then apply for a job with ESB , I’ll tell you this , you wouldn’t get me out doing they’re work for €200/hour or any price the dangers and health risks are not worth it in my opinion.
Less the 48% tax they will have to pay im sure they would rather be home with their families rather than risking the lives
They were out at first light in west cork and ensuring that most got light on
Have to hand it to the ESB,they are at this outage with hammer and tongs
Apps up to date and fully informed
Mind you the postie Delivered a beautiful bill from the ESB just as the light came .. Irony of ironys..
What killed me was not having electricity per se. It was having no wifi.
How you going to charge your iPad or laptop?
after 25hrs without electricity with 2 small kids I nearly did a jig when it came back on, I was lucky I could go to my mums today and have something warm to eat and be in a warm place for a few hours, but there are plenty of people who have nowhere to go and if you can help them in any way, do. When my neighbours found out some of us had no power they offered to make tea, I was so grateful for a warm cup of tea.
I now have a camping gas stove just in case tomorrow it goes again at least we can have beans on bread and i can have a cup of tea, its amazing just how much you miss little things when you can’t have them.
Fair dues to anyone who is working in the weather we have at the moment to get power back to house it can’t be a easy job
Now folks, imagine if our cables were all under ground, no need for this crap, everyone would be sitting cosy at home, but know let’s put more overhead cables in place
Or imagine all the cables are underground and you get rain for weeks like we’ve after getting and soil starts to move. Cables get damaged and power is lost for weeks not days. But that doesn’t matter to the short sighted people such as yourself. You’ll have something to complain about regardless.
The worst part about your comment is that so many people actually agree with you….. scary!
Not trying to pick fault, but where is the soil moving now, that if the cables were buried beneath, they’d be damaged? The ESB is underground from the nearest pole to my house, it’s in that indestructible red pipe that I dare anyone to manage to do harm to, it won’t even burn! Lol , I’d say it’s only a matter of time before it all goes underground.
So if the soil starts to move pylons and cables on top of the soil will not be damaged. Really do you really believe that? Seriously?
Would you pay 8 times your electricity bill to have wires underground and if there was a fault have them limes dug up again to repair the fault? Live in the real world.
Just supply the costs to back up your claim of 8 times the cost please. Maybe you should get a grip on the real world before making claims like that.
Take it from someone that knows cos I am one of these people working out here on the power
Iines trying to restore power to as much people as possible
For fliuch sake!
Stay positive and just think of it as …..camping indoors.
Shades of Berlusconi!
Who would all the haters be begging to put the power back on? Live off grid if ya have a problem if not appreciate all the work the lads do to put your toaster on on the morning when the all are working away and not seeing their families and putting their lives at risk.
Fair play to the ESB workers, who of course were on the end of some ridiculous vitriol a few months back.
Hopefully some of them were smart enough to prepare for this kind of event
Lots of Aldi generators being put to good use I’d say
They are the one company that do work very hard in bad weather. No other company would work in that weather under conditions like they do. Thank you guys keep up the good work
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