Advertisement

We need your help now

Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.

You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.

If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar says Ireland came close to an amber energy alert in recent days. Alamy Stock Photo

Varadkar: Electricity supply will be ‘very tight’ in weeks ahead

Varadkar says the Government has been warned that the margin between energy supply and demand ‘will be very tight’.

LAST UPDATE | 8 Dec 2022

IRELAND CAME CLOSE to an amber alert in the energy system in recent days and there is a risk of potential alerts in the run-up to Christmas, Tànaiste Leo Varadkar has said.

Speaking during Leaders’ Questions, Varadkar said the Government has been advised that the margin between energy supply and demand “will be very tight”, particularly over the course of the next week or two as temperatures are set to drop.

Demand for electricity is high at the moment and generating capacity is stretched, he said.

“But I do want to say this and say very clearly. We did come close to an amber alert in the last couple of days. We haven’t had one since August although that may well happen.

“But an amber alert means that there is enough electricity available. It’s when you get to a red alert that you get into a different scenario. That hasn’t happened yet. We can’t guarantee that it’s not going to happen,” said Varadkar.

If the country has a red alert, where the demand for electricity outstrips the amount we can generate, the Tánaiste said the first port of call is to power down the large energy users, such as data centres, that have their own backup electricity.
“We’re not going to have a situation whereby the first call is on homes or farms or small businesses – that will be way down the line,” he said.

Varadkar said he wanted to reassure people that the likelihood of brownouts or blackouts affecting homes or businesses is highly unlikely.

“I just want to make that very clear to people and hopefully give them some degree of reassurance about power supply over the winter period,” he said. 

His comments come as it is set to be another bitterly cold day today with weather warnings for low temperatures and ice kicking in. 

Met Éireann has warned there will be hazardous conditions as a band of wintry precipitation sinks southwards, leading to a potential for black ice and freezing rain on surfaces.

The forecaster has said there will be severe frost with icy surfaces, as temperatures widely fall to -4 degrees. Three Status Yellow warnings are due to kick in across the country tonight

The RSA has urged cyclists and motorcyclists to be especially vigilant, while the Department of Transport has stated that all transport operators will keep their services running but the impact of the weather in certain areas may be worse than in others.

Further advice and information on the being prepared for the cold snap can be read here

With reporting by Hayley Halpin.

Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.

Close
36 Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic. Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy here before taking part.
Leave a Comment
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Roy Mitchell
    Favourite Roy Mitchell
    Report
    Jul 21st 2011, 1:05 PM

    Interesting piece. I hope the author is right about this Dail.
    I really think the Journal should do more pieces like this by first time TDs. It’s give people an insight into what it’s really like in there!

    105
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Seamus Ryan
    Favourite Seamus Ryan
    Report
    Jul 21st 2011, 1:14 PM

    Worth reading. Cheers for taking the time to write it, Stephen.

    76
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Seán Cafferkey
    Favourite Seán Cafferkey
    Report
    Jul 21st 2011, 1:22 PM

    Great column. I always wondered what it was like for a first TD in the Dail

    51
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Kiki Dee
    Favourite Kiki Dee
    Report
    Jul 21st 2011, 1:26 PM

    Very interesting piece Stephen. I really enjoyed reading it. :)

    37
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Maureen Kelly
    Favourite Maureen Kelly
    Report
    Jul 21st 2011, 2:05 PM

    Really enjoyed that! Let’s have some more!! How about asking Ming? :)

    25
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Jeff Rudd
    Favourite Jeff Rudd
    Report
    Jul 21st 2011, 2:02 PM

    Cheers Stephen. Great writing and eye opening stuff.
    More please?

    24
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute damian
    Favourite damian
    Report
    Jul 21st 2011, 2:03 PM

    Good article and a nice insight into the day to day workings of the Dail that we rarely get a chance to hear about…

    21
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Aoife O'Connor
    Favourite Aoife O'Connor
    Report
    Jul 21st 2011, 2:08 PM

    An interesting and enlightening read. Too few TDs realise how little most of us know about what they do and how they do it, so it’s nice to have a little insight.

    18
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Mark Dennehy
    Favourite Mark Dennehy
    Report
    Jul 21st 2011, 1:23 PM

    Legislation is complex (often mind bogglingly so). So in order to research and debate legislation properly, you need to know what the legislation is – in advance.

    16
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute sure2bsure
    Favourite sure2bsure
    Report
    Jul 22nd 2011, 5:25 AM

    I’m just curious. I thought legislation was drafted by senior civil servants with the aid of the states legal people. Surely if they need specialist advice they can just pay for it?

    2
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Mark Dennehy
    Favourite Mark Dennehy
    Report
    Jul 22nd 2011, 4:25 PM

    Who would you pay to get specialist advice on civilian firearms ownership in Ireland?
    Other than civilian firearms owners (who’ve been trying to give them that advice for free for nearly forty years now), that is.

    2
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Simon Cunnane
    Favourite Simon Cunnane
    Report
    Jul 21st 2011, 4:10 PM

    Excellent article.

    I’ve been consistently impressed with Stephen Donnelly since I first saw him on “Tonight With Vincent Browne” last January. He is articulate, knowledgeable and has the qualifications to back up most of what he says. The electorate clearly warmed to that and in four and a half months, it’s very interesting to get this sort of insight into the workings of Dáil Eireann from him.

    More of this from TheJournal.ie please.

    14
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Noel Carroll
    Favourite Noel Carroll
    Report
    Jul 21st 2011, 4:10 PM

    Maybe it’s just me but just because you’re a TD, it doesn’t give journalists the right to ask for your private number, and you have the right to refuse. Who of us in our jobs would gladly give out our private numbers to clients or associates? Who of us would be happy to have a third party volunteer that information after we said no. That journalist needs to be outer as a bulky and as someone who has risen above their station.

    13
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Noel Carroll
    Favourite Noel Carroll
    Report
    Jul 21st 2011, 4:11 PM

    I did mean the journalist should be outed as a bully :).

    9
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute James Gaffney
    Favourite James Gaffney
    Report
    Jul 21st 2011, 6:18 PM

    Politicians and journalists share mobile numbers all the time, it’s a quid pro quo, sometimes politicians want to publicise an issue quickly and like to have instant access to a trusted journalist and vice versa, sometimes a journalist wants to get an instant reaction to a story from a politician, having each other’s mobiles just makes life easier for both parties. Politicians should realise that in this era of mass communications, they have to be accessible to the media. For the record I do give my mobile out to clients and associates and have no problem with it.

    Saying that, I agree with you that it was bad form out of the journalist in question to first of all get his number from a colleague and secondly to whine about it the next day in the paper, talk about a non-story.

    Fair play to Stephen Donnelly, a very interesting piece. I liked your train metaphor, something we can all relate to, and hopefully your comments on the Dáil as an echo chamber will echo loudly around the corridors of power until something is done to improve the situation.

    10
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Oisín Ó Dálaigh
    Favourite Oisín Ó Dálaigh
    Report
    Jul 21st 2011, 3:34 PM

    Thank you for writing what is a really excellent and informative piece, and it confirmed what I thought regarding the true nature of Dáil debate.

    Would love to hear more insights from Stephen as his time serving progresses.

    13
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Aoife O'Connor
    Favourite Aoife O'Connor
    Report
    Jul 21st 2011, 4:09 PM

    I’d love to know who’s thumbs-downing the people who are basically going “Hmm, that’s interesting, I didn’t know that before” and why they’re doing it.

    Care to leave a comment with your reasons, red-thumb ninjas?

    12
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Aidan Molloy
    Favourite Aidan Molloy
    Report
    Jul 21st 2011, 3:25 PM

    Within minutes, he’d got it from another journalist; by that evening, I was being badmouthed in the Dáil bar; and next morning, it was in the paper. Oops. – Stinks of NOTW carry on.

    9
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Daithi Linnane
    Favourite Daithi Linnane
    Report
    Jul 21st 2011, 2:00 PM

    Can’t wait to read his inevitable book on Dáil Reform

    4
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Loraine Byrne
    Favourite Loraine Byrne
    Report
    Jul 22nd 2011, 5:38 PM

    Well done Stephen, proud to have given you a vote. Everything I’ve seen of your time in the dail has been progressive- including this article- keep up the excellent juggling!

    2
Submit a report
Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
Thank you for the feedback
Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.

Leave a commentcancel

 
JournalTv
News in 60 seconds