THE SUGGESTION BY the CEO of ESB Networks that the repair costs from Storm Éowyn could result in higher electricity bills for customers next year sounds like a “sick joke” to the thousands that remain without power, according to Social Democrats TD Jennifer Whitmore.

Speaking on RTÉ’s Today with Claire Byrne yesterday, ESB boss Paddy Hayes said that the full assessment of costs for customers will be looked at in 2026.

“It’s likely that those charges which are allowed there will find their way back into the overall cost of our distribution network,” he said.

“There is a cost associated by this that will ultimately be borne across the electricity network as a whole. It is a devastating and destructive storm, the likes of which we have never seen before,” said the ESB CEO.

Energy Minister Darragh O’Brien said today that some 18,000 customers across the midlands, west and northwest of the country still have no power following the storm. 

Whitmore said the government can no longer “wash its hands” of the response and said the Dáil should have sat last week to discuss the storm response. 

“While the full cost of restoring the network has yet to be determined, it would be unconscionable if domestic or business customers ended up picking up the tab,” said the Wicklow TD. 

“ESB Networks is a highly profitable company and should be well placed to foot the repair bill, however costly, from their own resources.

“Ireland already has the highest electricity prices in the EU so any attempt to push up bills further must be strenuously resisted,” she said. 

O’Brien told the Dáil that he has been reassured that agencies are doing everything possible to restore power to customers as quickly as possible. 

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Taoiseach Micheál Martin said today that Ireland needs “a fundamental rethink in terms of storm resilience”.

He said a fundamental re-evaluation of the grid will take place to determine its resilience. Speaking during Leaders’ Questions, he said the lack of a back-up system for the water system was not acceptable, stating that at a minimum, back-up generators should be available. 

He confirmed that a formal review of the response to Storm Éowyn will be conducted by the Department of Housing and submitted to the Government Task Force for Emergency Planning.

Martin said new actions will be delivered as a matter of priority, with an enhanced Winter 2025 Grid Resilience Plan to be developed within one month, and implemented by ESB Networks between March and October 2025 to enhance the resilience of the grid in the most vulnerable locations for the upcoming winter.

The Taoiseach commended the 3,000 ESB Networks crew members, contractors and the crews who have come to assist from the United Kingdom, France, Finland, UK, Germany, Austria, Norway and the Netherlands.