LAST UPDATE | 24 Jan 2024

AROUND 12,000 HOMES, businesses and farms around the country are without power this evening in the wake of Storms Isha and Jocelyn.

Some ESB customers are still powerless after Storm Isha hit Ireland over the weekend, with more facing outages due to Storm Jocelyn rolling in yesterday.

Multiple weather warnings were in place yesterday evening, including Status Orange wind warnings for Mayo, Donegal and Galway.

As of this evening, around 12,000 customers remain without power across the country following the storms. 

The areas most affected by the outages are predominantly Donegal, Sligo, Leitrim, Mayo, Cavan and Longford. 

The ESB said that while significant progress has been made over the last 48 hours in the restoration effort, its crews are working through faults on the low voltage network that have primarily affected single homes and small clusters of customers. 

All available ESB Networks resources are currently deployed, including crews and partner contractors who have travelled from less impacted areas of the country to assist in the restoration effort. For instance, crews from Cork are now deployed in Donegal assisting local colleagues there.

More than 50 skilled personnel from the UK’s National Grid Electricity Distribution and the Power Networks will arrive in Ireland this evening and be deployed in the worst impacted areas from tomorrow morning.  

“We haven’t stopped working. We worked very late into last night and started very early today. Every resource we have is working as many hours as it can work to safely get power back but unfortunately it probably will go for a number of days this week to get everyone back,” Brian Tapley, a regional manager at with ESB, told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland earlier. 

The ESB has said it is important that any impacted customers who use electrically powered medical devices contact their healthcare professional to make alternative arrangements if necessary.

“We again apologise for the disruption to family and commercial life this causes, and thank customers across the country, especially those who will be without power again overnight, for their patience as our crews work to safely restore power,” the ESB said in a statement this evening. 

Water restrictions

Margaret Attridge, head of water operations at Uisce Éireann, said that water access has been restored for most after a peak of 50,000 customers without water on Monday morning but that power outages have affected reservoirs.

Following the impacts of the recent weather events, combined with a continued high demand for water, localised overnight restrictions are being put in place tonight in areas of Inchicore and Collins Avenue in north Dublin, along with parts of Ballyogan, Dalkey, Sandycove and Mounttown in south county Dublin. 

The restrictions are being put in place to assist with leakage detection and repairs, and to manage reservoir levels. 

Customers in these areas will experienced reduced pressure and/or outages from 8pm until 6am tomorrow. 

Uisce Éireann has said it may take several hours following restoration of pressure for normal supply to be fully restored due to the size of the network. 

“We recognise that this will cause some inconvenience to customers in the affected areas and thank them for their patience while we carry out essential works to address leakage and manage reservoir levels. Customers can get updates on their local supply on water.ie,” Uisce Éireann’s regional operations manager Stephen Burke said. 

As of 7pm last night, eight flights to and from Dublin Airport had been cancelled due to the poor weather conditions.

A spokesperson for Dublin Airport said this morning that there were “no additional cancellations last night (8 for the day) and everything is moving well this morning”.

Forecast

Met Éireann forecasts that tonight will be dry in many areas at first, but cloud, rain and drizzle will continue to move in from the southwest, bringing dull and misty conditions. 

Lowest temperatures tonight will range between 2 and 7 degrees, coolest early on in Ulster with some frost possible. 

Tomorrow is due to be dull and breezy with outbreaks of rain and drizzle. Some heavy bursts are to begin across Atlantic counties. 

Low cloud and mist is also expected, while some brighter spells will develop during the afternoon as the rain and drizzle becomes patchier. 

Conditions will be relatively mild and humid with highest temperatures of 11 to 14 degrees.

Later tomorrow evening, a band of squally rain is forecast to move in from the Atlantic. 

With reporting by Lauren Boland