Energy

ESB warns emergency power generation may not be ready in time for winter

The semi-state claims Eirgrid’s ‘aggressive timelines’ could be missed due to lack of infrastructure in place for peak demand

The state’s creaking energy system has been put under increasing strain over recent years due to a number of factors including the growth in the number of data centres

More than a third of the emergency power generation that Eirgrid planned to have in place by this winter may not be delivered on time due to the “aggressive timelines” associated with the project, a senior ESB executive has warned.

Jim Dollard, head of power generation and trading at the semi-state power company, said ESB was awarded two contracts from Eirgrid to install emergency power capacity, which needs to be operational for this winter to ...