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THE ENVIRONMENT MINISTER has warned Ireland needs to be “very careful” in its energy use to avoid blackouts this coming winter.
He said there is “no doubt we’re facing into a very challenging situation” but expects the country to be able to “keep the lights on”.
Last week, the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) launched a consultation with energy suppliers on how they might reduce their energy usage.
It is being driven by heightened fears there will be blackouts as we near Christmas.
“We expect to be able to provide the power that this country needs in the next two to three months,” Eamon Ryan told Bryan Dobson on RTÉ’s News at One.
The Green Party leader said the Government has contingency planning for emergencies but it does not expect “very dramatics scenarios” affecting the country.
Ryan said prices will be the “biggest challenge” this winter for householders and businesses.
Secure, affordable and clean power were three of the key planks, Ryan added.
He said the Budget would include mitigation measures for households as well as windfall charges for energy companies would have to be considered alongside supports for householders.
He said he did not believe the British system of price caps on energy prices worked, as they were ending at the most difficult time and that “doesn’t necessarily protect your consumers”.
He said time-of-day pricing – where people are being discouraged to use electricity between 5pm and 7pm – and a campaign of reusing were the right policy measures to address the problem.
The main reason for the soaring prices was the war in Ukraine, according to Ryan, who added that it was also due to maintenance programmes for older fossil fuel plants were not able to be maintained during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“It means we have to be very careful if there’s a third variable or third issue which has been part of the problem,” he said.
The Journal originally reported on the proposed power plants last April, with EirGrid at first seeking for the two emergency plants to be up and running by winter.
However it will take 15 months for the first of these to be built, as reported earlier this month.
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Ryan warns we have to be careful about power while shutting perfectly good power stations and pushing electrical heating and electric cars this fella needs to be removed from any form of power fast. This time of day pricing is just price gouging as most people have no choice but to use electricity to cook their evening meals at these times and it is not safe to have anything with a heating element running unattended particularly while in bed such as a dishwasher washing machine or dryer
@Michael McGrath: Pity we cant grow energy in our garden boxes along side all the lettuce……Ryan would be all over that!
@Michael McGrath: our electric generation is highly linked to gas, a few old ineffective peat power stations ain’t gonna cover that
@Jason Walsh: both those power stations gave enough power for 245000 homes and closing them without ready-made replacements was the height of stupidity
@Michael McGrath: Perfectly put,and let’s not forget the Rubbish about lettuce in windoboxes,sleeping constantly at work,sleeping might I add on a seat that cost countless lives to put under his arse, he is a disgrace.
@Michael McGrath: If we just shut him up we could save enough energy to save the world.
@Jason Walsh: they are not old in generating plant terms and yes every few hundred mw make a difference
Electricity sucking datacenters, an exploding population, sanctions on a major energy provider and the crazy Greens in power is a bad mix!
@Irish View: spot on
@Irish View: what absolute toddle!
@Irish View: doesn’t eamon hibernate for the winter.
@Brian Madden: well, according to Irish view we have an ‘exploding population’. Wouldn’t sleep knowing this!
@Irish View: Ireland is the only country in the world that has a lower population now than 1850. Hardly an explosion.
@Brian Madden: Yea sleeps in the heated Dail for the Winter.
Thanks Eamo. Turn of the lecky between 5-7pm, ie, dinner time when everyone is home…. slow clap…go back to sleep
Ryan has sleeped walked us into this crisis. He hasn’t a clue how to solve it in the near future. The sooner the better their is an election so we can get the Greens out as they are all a shower of wasters. Their incompetence knows no bounds.
@Ronnie Smith: agreed
@Edel Nally: l second that – he’s a complete gobshité of the highest order.
“where people are being discouraged to use electricity between 5pm and 7pm” … I’ve seen this written and heard it said but never any mention of how it can be done.
@Earth Traveller: from an Irish Independent article for a few days ago, If you’ve got a smart meter they plan on charging more for use between 5 and 7pm, and perhaps less outside of those hours. They’ve got ways of “incentivising” use according to the article.
Only problem is, just a fraction of homes have these meters so not really sure how they’ll manage it but you can guarantee it’ll involve the user paying more.
@Earth Traveller:
Erm, don’t put on the dishwasher or the washing machine until later in the evening, do the ironing at at different time, turn off the immersion etc ? Small change in habits would make a huge difference
@Hector Son: I think most people are already doing that. The majority of power used at this time comes from people doing normal things like making dinner and in the winter turning on a few lights and your heat for an hour or two. Maybe having a quick shower if your home from a days manual labour or putting on the TV for the kids.
@Hector Son: while yes you are correct in some instances not all circumstances can be moved to off peak usage. For instance there is currently talk of introducing time of day tariffs for those with smart meters, between 5 and 7, starting in October….just the time when most people arrive home needing their dinner after a days work….to me, that is gouging, plain and simple. Also, a tumble dryer is one of the more expensive items in the home to run, but no way should you ever put that on and leave it unattended, it is asking for trouble.
@Earth Traveller: it does actually make sense as it is peak load and most likely to lead to load shedding. That is the effect, we all need to stop the blame game and put our shoulder to the wheel. I agree that we need solutions, but just like covid when we need to we will.
@Earth Traveller: kinda hard if you are working….
2022, a world run by “experts” and this is where we are. FFS!!!!!
All cause of Europe sanctions now we need to pay the price
@noel c: no. It’s Because an mental case invades another country and slaughters it’s people.
@noel c: yea them fec kin europeans..let’s just doing nothing and leave putin run riot instead, makes a way more sense
Maybe instead of giving households one off payments they should spend these funds in fitting all houses with solar panels?
@flokster: not much good unless you’re pairing your solar with a battery.
Charge using solar in morning and afternoon, and on the night rate.
There’s a growing argument for buying only a battery and charging it from night rate electricity to offset your day rate costs. Depends on your usage though.
@Cian Martin: Know a couple in England who are doing exactly that. Working for them but the only gripe they have is initial cost. It’s going to take at least 10yrs to break even. Then there’s the issue of electric cars. As the numbers of cars increase so will pressure on the grid at off-peak times as more and more people charge from home overnight. This will probably result in off-peak rates rising, pushing the break even point for this couple out even further. Panels + batteries would be most cost effective long term.
@flokster: and how much will that cost?
@Appaddy: €200 a household according to flockster’s flawed logic
Nuclear
@Self Employed Anarchist: they passed motion in the dail that we won’t even import nuclear from other countries such as France. While everyone was asleep – people of Ireland are subservient!
@James Lough: The Celtic interconnect or will bring electricity from France. Mostly nuclear?
@Ciaran Maher: Not one KW of power will come on the back of that white elephant. The French nuke surplus is destined for the silly
Germans who shut down theirs.
The good thing about the Smart Meters is we will be able to buy in power at few cent when the wind is blowing strong and in surplus.
Ryan and the Greens are just plain ignorant on this whole power issue. Haven’t got a clue. Get rid of the data centres, big tech and pharma. Kill half the cows and buy a million bicycles. Job done or so they think.!
@Self Employed Anarchist: sure that is what Putin is proposing?
@James Lough: we have been importing nuclear for years through the two interconnectors.
@Ciaran Maher: no it is designated for the interconnection of solar in the south of European wind in the North. Possibly in 2027 at the earliest. Meanwhile?
@Self Employed Anarchist: Nucléaire ? Non merci ! Remember all the wolly-heads at Carnsore Point in the 1970’s, headed by Crusty Hoore?
@Ciaran Maher: France interconnector won’t be ready until 2026. Ireland imports energy from nuclear 0.93%. the energy motion now restricts any energy import from a nuclear source because of Ryan and sleepy Dāil members.
@Appaddy: 0.93% currently and the amendment now prevents this – it’s madness – get the Greens out and reverse this situation or we’ll be in the dark ages.
Yes Eamon, we certainly wouldn’t want to be caught napping on this one….
They know well we will have blackouts but don’t have the courage to say it. The UK are putting a plan in place for planned blackouts but our shower will allow it to happen on a whim with no notice given to us. My advice is to plan for blackouts folks cause it’s gonna happen.
@Jason Walsh: if the UK are planning blackouts, their situation is much worse. If expect unplanned blackouts to go with it
@Jason Walsh: Oh let’s follow the UK Jason. They are clearly world leaders. The great British Empire? Not any more..
Oh feck he’s awake ,new tax on the way
Perhaps if everyone (very carefully) raised their dwellings and replaced them pointed it in a south-westerly direction this crisis could be averted?
Price caps don’t work? because the British ones are ending, how about the French ones? capped at 4% not ending anytime soon. The war in Ukraine is the problem – how many increases in 2021 before the war? over 18% increase in second half of 2021 alone. Now they want to increase prices further if you use at peak times, won’t that just push the peak to another time? couldn’t find their own arse with 2 hands and a map, useless.
@Mick Wall: quote of the day Mick had me laughing
@Mick Wall: TG for Google maps, arse problem resolved.
Every time this man makes an announcement or adds his opinion to an issue, my heart sinks, I become even less confident in our government and I consider reaching for a drink of something stronger than tea, to steady the nerves. Is he not taking the spin lessons like the other fella?
What a pity we closed the Shannonbridge in 2020: https://www.westmeathindependent.ie/2020/12/11/end-of-an-era-for-shannonbridge-power-station/
He’s on a roll today, 2 articles in in a row
@Nigel Hayden: pity it wasn’t 3 strikes and you’re out,I’d be getting excited.
@John Sleator: if only dreams come true lol
Who woke him up?
Fed up with every story about Troy having the comments closed on it. I can understand if it’s a legal case but it’s not (yet). We as the readers of the journal have the right to comment on what he has, hasn’t, could or couldn’t have done particularly given he is a public representative.
@Peter: and as usual deleted any pertinent comments regarding white collar corruption and self interest policy setting
Woolies and penny candles for some households.
Ryan wound have us all on our bikes at home peddling fast to generate the required power to keep the lights on
Get your aran jumper quick, sheep wool is in short supply.
Just get the two Midlands peat power stations open and stop the daily exporting of peat.
@Johnny Monaghan: While the rest of the world protects their peat bogs, we were subsidising the burning of them. Plenty of better alternative than peat
@Mickety Dee: plenty of bogs still being stripped
There is an immediate gap and Eamonn et al need to wake up. We are in a WW2 situation energy wise. No gas storage no effective oil storage, relatively new peat stations mothballed, a planning system that takes years to get decisions, a cadre of geniuses that specialise and indeed thrive of objecting to progress, a court system that can be used to stop projects for years.
I sincerely hope that I am wrong on this, but one cold winter with freezing youth, rising costs and guess what happens next.
But the government answer is yet another work group to kick the can down the road.
We have in the past had government’s of national unity in crisis situations. Smell the roses f f sake.
Christ, the way people go on about data centres they use 15% of generated energy even removing them your at 75% capacity the issue isn’t data centres it is as usual this useless governments ability to not look ahead and forward plan while at the same time also removing generation from grid, this is going to skew total generation so total uptake is higher as less generating capacity. Even if you closed all them, they will move back on premise and use even more energy than before. Data centres are heavily virtualized and efficient, you’d find they’d save energy overall.
Sure Eamo, will do.
Anything left in the box Pandora!
@Damien Leen: Hope
I think Eamon Ryan needs to be very careful
Eamon Ryan hasn’t a clue what he is talking about… worst minister ever. Get rid
F off Ryan and take Troy with you. Sickingly corrupt the whole lot of ye.
It would be deemed normal practice that, when you intend to shut down one source of creating electricity that you would have another source up and ready. When the turf powered Generators were shut down we had an immediate dilemma as to replacement so, where to now ? Any Cabbage head solution ?
Genuine question. Why didn’t the power supply go tits up when we were all at home for months on end during lockdown; with the heating on,the kettle constantly boiling, and the toaster on overdrive?
If the answer is that consumption was down because the factories, shops, and workplaces weren’t functioning,then why is the domestic consumer being punished now?
That’s right Dougal!
He needs to hibernate for the winter.
Doh
Wakey wakey Amen
Clowns he and all who vote for him
someone told me that global warming is caused by all the hot air coming from Ryan
have your say