Highest ever demand for electricity in Ireland recorded yesterday evening
Cold weather, data centres and Christmas lights help drive record surge
District heating could require large state investment
Network may require national ownership similar to gas, water and electricity, senior civil servant hints
Some of state’s biggest water users to go unregulated under proposed laws
New legislation would mean only businesses tapping two million litres of water a day from rivers, lakes and groundwater wells would require a licence
Irish Water urged to cut leakage loss by 176 million litres a day
Some 712 million litres are lost each day and the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities says this should be reduced to 536 million litres a day by 2024
Tech companies turn to fossil fuels to power Irish data centres
Conservation group calls for effective regulation as multinationals increase use of on-site gas plants to generate electricity
Data centres use same amount of water as large towns
Facilities run by tech giants like Facebook and Amazon require tens of millions of litres to cool their servers during warm summer months in Ireland
Flood prevention projects due to come in €15m over budget
OPW describes challenging ground conditions and difficulty of carrying out proper site assessment on private land
