Ireland's Electricity Supply Set for Safer Winter, Says Minister O'Brien

Ireland's national electricity system will operate within acceptable risk levels this winter, with a significantly improved outlook compared to recent years thanks to emergency generation units and extended power station operations.

Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment Darragh O'Brien welcomed EirGrid's Winter Outlook report published today, which examines electricity supply risks during the peak demand period from November to April.

The report shows the Loss of Load Expectation has dropped to 1.1 hours this winter, a marked improvement from 3.6 hours last winter and 21 hours in 2023/2024. This figure sits comfortably within the Department's three-hour annual standard, meaning there is a very low probability of the system entering an emergency state due to insufficient generation.

The improvement stems largely from the Security of Supply programme, developed in response to Ireland's challenging generation capacity position during the energy crisis. The Commission for the Regulation of Utilities established the programme in 2021 to provide additional stability to the national power system.

A key element is the deployment of approximately 650MW of Temporary Emergency Generation units at North Wall, Huntstown, Shannonbridge and Tarbert. These out-of-market generators are only activated when required to support security of supply.

The programme also secured the retention of Moneypoint power station beyond its expected 2025 closure date. The station now runs on Heavy Fuel Oil instead of coal, providing additional resilience to the electricity system until 2029.

Minister O'Brien said:

"The Winter Outlook shows that the national electricity system will operate within the level of risk that is set by the Department. This, in turn, means that there is a very low probability of the system entering a state of emergency due to insufficient generation being available to meet demand."

He added: "The Winter Outlook risk metric would be 14 times higher than the level set as acceptable by the Department if those additional generation units had not been delivered by the programme, showing the key value of actions by my Department, EirGrid and CRU over the last few years, to secure Ireland's generation capacity."

Without the Temporary Emergency Generation and retained units, the Loss of Load Expectation would rise to 43.4 hours, highlighting the critical role these measures play in maintaining Ireland's electricity security.

Beyond generation capacity, ESB Networks is implementing a Winter Resilience Plan to improve grid resilience in locations vulnerable to storm damage. Recent severe weather has underscored the need for greater investment in network infrastructure.

The National Development Plan will provide up to €3.5 billion in additional equity to support unprecedented investment in electricity grid infrastructure between 2026 and 2030.

Minister O'Brien concluded:

"Investment in our electricity grid to update our power generation systems, to enhance energy security and long-term affordability for consumers and businesses, is a priority for me, and for this Government as a whole."

The full EirGrid Winter Outlook 2025/2026 report is available at eirgrid.ie.