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Low probability of power shortages this winter, EirGrid says

EirGrid said there will be adequate generation capacity and a reduced risk of system alerts
EirGrid said there will be adequate generation capacity and a reduced risk of system alerts

The State body responsible for managing the national electricity grid said there is a low probability of power shortages this winter.

EirGrid said there will be adequate generation capacity and a reduced risk of system alerts.

Diarmaid Gillespie, director of operations at EirGrid, said: "The risk of insufficient generation being available to meet demand this winter is much lower than in recent years...which is positive."

The organisation said power generation had improved due to the completion of a new 500 megawatt interconnector to Britain called Greenlink.

An additional 108 megawatts of new gas-fired power generation and 45 megawatts of new batteries have been added to capacity.

EirGrid said if there was a shortage of capacity, there were protocols in place so large electricity users would come off the grid and use their own resources if there is any threat to power generation.

This would mitigate any impact on domestic users and businesses, it said.

Last winter a new peak of 6,024 megawatts was recorded on 8 January 2025 due to cold weather.

EirGrid is forecasting a new peak of 6,044 megawatts this winter.

It said a drop of one-degree Celsius results in a 55 megawatt increase in peak demand.