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.