The ESB has confirmed that the process of 're-firing' a €260m power station in Co Offaly has just got under way - after a two-month breakdown at the unit.
The west Offaly power station in Shannonbridge has been closed since late March when it was discovered that serious corrosion had taken place in piping.
The closure has cost Bord na Móna €5m in lost sales income of peat.
If the 'firing' process goes according to plan, the station should be reopened and providing electricity for the national grid by the end of this week.
Bord na Móna workers in west Offaly are relying on the reopening of the station to boost their incomes and bonus payments during the summer months.
The closure of the station has coincided with the best peat milling weather conditions in the area for many years.
More than 100 people who would normally have been employed as seasonal workers have yet to be offered work this summer.
