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LAST UPDATE | 22 Aug 2022
THE TAOISEACH HAS said there is “no question” that there is a growing demand for energy in Ireland.
The price of wholesale electricity is now 86% higher than it was a year ago, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
New figures from the CSO show there was an increase in the price of wholesale electricity in July, with prices 47% higher than the previous month. The price of electricity is now 86.3% higher than in July 2021.
Overall the Energy Products Index followed the same trend, going up by 37% since June 2022, and up 77.6% when compared to July 2021.
This evening, EirGrid temporarily issued an amber alert warning of low winds and tight margins between demand and supply – the latest in a series of such alerts in recent weeks.
The alert has since been lifted.
Speaking in Cork today, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said there is “no question” that there is a “growing demand on our energy because we’re growing as an economy and growing as a population”.
Earlier this month the Single Electricity Market Operator (SEMO) issued an amber alert due to a “generation shortfall”. This type of alert is issued when there is a threat to the supply of electricity.
“People would have perhaps expected an earlier warning system in relation to some of this that’s materialising. It’s a good idea to do that, that’s important, but the broader issue is measures we take now to ensure we maintain energy security for the country,” the Taoiseach said.
The government has commissioned an independent review into electricity supply issues, with former senior civil servant Dermot McCarthy asked to carry it out.
Martin said McCarthy has “considerable experience” of government systems and that Green Party leader Eamon Ryan was of the view McCarthy would be a “very appropriate person” for the job.
There have been calls for targeted measures to help low-income families bear the financial burden of rising energy bills this winter. It is expected that the Budget next month will include measures, including another €200 energy subsidy, to help address the crisis.
A recently published study by the ESRI revealed that, based on one measure, almost a third of Irish households are in energy poverty and are paying more than 10% of their income on energy costs due to inflation.
The CSO figures today show that wholesale prices for food products, beverages and tobacco prices increased by 10.3% in the year to July 2022.
Producer prices for dairy products rose 52.9%, fish products were up 19.7%, grain milling, starches and animal feeds increased by 14.2% and producer prices for meat and meat products rose by 13.2%.
In construction, wholesale prices rose by 3.8% over the month of July and 20.6% in the year, with particularly high increases in structural steel and reinforcing metal (46.7%) and in the ‘Other timber, other’ category (109.6%).
Commenting on the release, Jillian Delaney, statistician in the CSO Prices Division, said: “Wholesale and producer prices continued to rise in most categories in July 2022. Producer prices in several food categories were significantly higher in July 2022 compared with the same month last year.”
The government plans to hold further meetings with the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) and EirGrid about energy procurement for this winter and next winter.
“We had meetings last year in respect of this. “We gave sanction to emergency procurement of generation in an unprecedented way,” the Taoiseach said.
“We gave them the capacity to procure energy generation on a short-time basis.
“Government will do everything it possibly can to ensure energy security for the people of the country.”
He said Ireland needs to accelerate renewable energy and off-shore wind energy and that the government would have to look “at demand reduction as well in an intelligent way”.
Additional reporting by Press Association
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Anythings better than the constant rain! Gardens like a swamp add in a labrador, two cats and cream tiles
Ohh I hear u Susan LLyod my Floors are destroyed 2dogs and a cat
A mop and its grand. It’s when they jump on the bed with muddy paws…
Dogs shouldn’t be allowed in the house.
You shouldn’t be allowed in the house.
I love pure winter days.. really cold n frosty in d morn with the Sun in the afternoon.. Bliss
Perfect weather for getting out and climbing a few mountains.
Are you lot mental
No doubt they will be out in force, hill walkers I mean and the emergency services stretched to their limits once more.
With a hint of napalm in the mornings? lol.
I don’t find your comment funny, people can die on the mountains and families are left to deal with the heartbreak.
Currently climbing a mountain now.
Surprised you have coverage !
Yeah break / sprain your leg on the ice, needlessly call out rescue services & put more lives ar risk.
Sturdy set of boots and a modicum of cop on and you’ll be fine.
I would suggest Meindl boots.
Bit pricy. I paid €240 for mine 6 years ago but their going strong.
Snowball. You wont get that in Ireland slush, roads impassable, no sand, ask the Government and they will say “we are ready” the Hospitals will be even mire overcrowded with People falling.
A nice Spring day would suit better.
*more*
You musnt be having much fun on your hike if you’re on your phone checking out The Journal !!!
Thought the whole point of hiking was getting away from it all ???
Yeah but I was instagramming to prove I was climbing or else it would be a waste.
I believe that
Ya wouldn’t be long getting frostbit
Hopefully a cold snap will kill off the bugs making people sick
Bleedin bitter it is
Grand auld stretch in the evenings though
Its beginning to feel a bit like a New Year
And there will still be hero’s in shorts .
I already miss our 15 degrees winter.
If you were in Athlone you would not be saying that
Aurora Borealis?! At this time of year?!? In this part of the country!?
Located ENTIRELY in your kitchen?
Yes
May I see it?
No.
Steamed hams all round!
Too warm.
Minus 20 and we would have lovely ski slopes in Connemara.
Like Austria and Switzerland.
We are nearer the North Pole than they are.
Damned warm Atlantic is stopping us from having ski-slopes.
I read that as Adam West
Adam West is stopping you from having ski slopes?
So all that flood water is going to freeze? Next week special in Aldi, Ice skates just €20
Hopefully it will help dry the place up.
Weeeeee… O its frozen lol.
Wow…MINUS 5…is that like colder than minus 5.
This is exactly what is required and has been for a long time, as mild temperatures are the reason for the flooding…and yes it is January so it is still winter..doh!!
Second bellybutton weather guys!
Stibby ??
Ahhhh got you now!!
I was hoping i wouldn’t have to explain myself lol
At least it will be dry!
IN JANUARY?
Should be March / April time lol.
Roll on “Jasus it’s freezin’ but at least it’s dry”
Let it go let it gooo hahahaha
Elsa are you at it again !!
Basted Fianna fáil
Its Ireland we’re living in. This is normal January weather. If you expect anything else you’re living in the wrong country.
I blame the Government !
Irish weather – no idea how ye stick it. Nice & warm here today in Brisbane. About 28°C I’d say. Can’t handle the cold any more.
Time for a trip to the canaries,I’ve alway said it ,”if the canaries were only an hours flight away,and had the same good weather, there’d be no one left in Ireland ” damp arthritis that goes with living in this country.
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