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Extra.ie
06-07-2025
- Business
- Extra.ie
A million premises face power cuts this autumn
Up to a million homes and businesses could face power cuts this autumn because the national grid operator failed to secure enough backup energy, has learned. And the blackouts could hit as soon as September after a damning new report identified Ireland as one of the three worst countries in Europe for electricity supplies. The findings are contained in a report released by the grid operators responsible for ensuring there is enough power to keep the lights on in 36 different European countries. Pic: fhm/Getty Images In their forecast for the winter ahead, the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-e) said the failure to replace antiquated power plants is to blame for the looming power cuts in Ireland. The report said: 'Ireland is marked with adequacy risks in September where significant planned outages on conventional generation are foreseen.' The threat of looming blackouts comes after an investigation revealed earlier this year that more than 50,000 households and businesses are already experiencing power outages every week. Pic:Documents obtained under Freedom of Information confirmed that outages impacted almost three million ESB customers – including people temporarily left without electricity on multiple occasions – across the country last year. MEP and former minister Barry Cowen said the stark warnings in the ENTSO-e report should raise serious questions at the highest levels of government. As Mr Cowen told 'To be singled out at European level – something that has unfortunately been remarked upon by colleagues in the European Parliament — is more than just an embarrassment. It should spark serious reflection on how we ended up here. MEP Barry Cowen. Pic: Tom Honan 'This is not the result of some sudden crisis. It's the product of drift, poor planning and repeated failure to act on clear warnings – failures I have consistently raised in Dáil Éireann, the European Parliament and both institutions' relevant committees,' he continued. The MEP for the Midlands-North West constituency added: 'EirGrid's own former CEO even warned we were 'sleepwalking' into a capacity crisis. It appears that warning is quickly becoming a reality. 'Flexibility in the system is limited. Dispatchable generation [electricity that can be programmed on demand] is not arriving quickly enough. And the grid simply can't keep up.' Jack Chambers. Pic: Sam Boal/Collins Photos Europe's grid operators' warning comes as the Accelerating Infrastructure Taskforce, set up by Public Expenditure Minister Jack Chambers to remove roadblocks to housing and major infrastructure projects, is due to publish its first report. The report is likely to recommend significant investments in Ireland's electricity and water infrastructure, identified as two of the biggest obstacles to the Government's pre-election promise to build 300,000 new homes before the end of the decade. Estimates published by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) this week indicate the Coalition will fall far short of these targets. However, the report by the umbrella group of Europe's gird operators shows Ireland cannot produce enough electricity to maintain current demand. Pic: File According to ENTSO-e, the planned temporary closure to allow for repair works on four of the country's creaking power plants will suck one gigawatt of energy from the national grid in September. This is the level of energy required to ensure the lights are kept on in from 750,000 to one million households, farms and businesses. Although these shutdowns have been planned in advance, European grid operators are concerned there will not be enough alternative sources of energy to cover both planned and any unexpected shutdowns to be caused by faults and breakdowns. In their Summer and Winter 2025 Outlook report, ENTSO-e said there is no risk of blackouts in continental Europe, the Nordic countries or the UK. In contrast, the body identifies Ireland, Malta, and Cyprus as being the most at risk of power outages. The report states: 'Islands that are isolated or scarcely interconnected (Ireland, Malta and Cyprus) will require close monitoring. 'The adequacy risk identified in Ireland at the end of the summer season is driven by multiple overlapping planned large dispatchable generator outages and the lack of new dispatchable generation entering the market to replace old units that have closed and to cover the increase in demand.' The report said the 'adequacy situation in Ireland will depend on the operational conditions, namely unplanned outages of the ageing generation fleet and especially wind generation. Non-market resources are now available and will significantly alleviate the risk.' But it warned 'Ireland is marked with adequacy risks in September', and that 'significant planned outages on conventional generation are foreseen'. The report adds: 'These risks are driven by unplanned outages of ageing power plants and will depend on wind generation if such outages occur. The actual adequacy situation in Ireland will depend on operational conditions such as unplanned outages of the ageing generation fleet in Ireland and especially wind generation.' Maynooth University Professor and member of the Climate Change Advisory Council, Peter Thorne, said the 'a lot will depend on renewables' if Ireland is to avoid significant power outages. Professor Thorne told 'If at any time over winter we are stuck under a cloudy high pressure, [with] little-to-no wind, no solar, then we'd be in trouble.' Prof Thorne said: 'The solution is to accelerate the roll-out of renewables and batteries and ensure [that there is] enough gas, oil and biomass capability for bridging and load balancing'. But he warned: 'New commercial-scale renewables take time even once planning is in place'. Professor Thorne went on to add: 'The other issue is grid renewal which is required for the new generation and storage reality. It's a mixture of planning and funding that is required.' In response to queries, EirGrid said: 'Planned outages are an essential part of managing the electricity grid Such outages are carefully planned, managed and communicated to stakeholders.' Despite the warnings coming from Europe's power grid bosses, a spokesman insisted that the 'scale of outages planned for September in Ireland is broadly consistent with previous outage plans for this time of year, and is not out of the ordinary'. A plant will remain offline day and night during planned maintenance works. Asked whether householders will likely be impacted by the planned power cuts, the spokesman added: 'EirGrid does not supply electricity to households. We supply electricity to the distribution system, managed by ESB Networks, which then supplies electricity to households.' ESB declined to respond to queries from saying 'we have nothing further to add at this time'. The Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) said it is 'aware that… EirGrid has planned generator outages during what is traditionally a lower-demand period.' A spokesman added: 'The one gigawatt (GW) that is referenced in the ENTSO-e outlook refers to power plants that will be offline for scheduled maintenance.' The regulator insisted the planned outages does not necessarily mean 'electricity customers will lose power. EirGrid carefully plans the electricity system to ensure that there is sufficient power available from other generation plants to cater for the expected demand, even when some generation plants are offline for routine maintenance during this period.' The spokesman also noted that ENTSO-e's forecast 'does not include electricity available from renewable generation, which can provide additional power for increased demand. 'This further mitigates against the risk of any interruptions.'
Euronews
29-04-2025
- Euronews
How engineers managed to get the power back on after Spain and Portugal's mass outage
ADVERTISEMENT States of emergency throughout Spain and Portugal are being lifted on Tuesday, except in Valencia, as the Iberian Peninsula starts to regain power after an unprecedented outage on Monday. The outage hit Spain, Portugal, and parts of France just after noon on Monday, according to data from the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-e). Dan Jorgensen, the EU Commissioner for energy and housing, said on X on Tuesday morning that the energy situation in Spain and Portugal is back to normal, noting that this incident was "the most severe for almost two decades in Europe". Related What could have caused the major power outage in Spain and Portugal? Experts weigh in While investigators are still trying to figure out the cause of the mass blackout, experts say restarting the grid after an outage is tricky and would have to strike a good balance or risk bringing about another. So, how does the re-energising process work, and when can those living in the Iberian Peninsula expect full power to come back? 'Suddenly there's a flurry of alarms' The transmission grid is the "backbone" of a country's electricity system, according to Spain's grid operator Red Electrica. It connects power generation stations to large consumers, distribution points, and other national energy production. The grid is needed to transmit the energy created by electricity generation plants from location to location 'efficiently and safely'. Spain's transmission grid has over 45,000 km of high-voltage line circuits, more than 700 substations, 600 bays, and over 200 transformers. Portugal's grid, although smaller, has 9,661 km of circuits, and roughly 77 per cent of its energy produced on Tuesday was from renewables like solar and wind, according to data from Portuguese energy company, Redes Energeticas Nacionais (REN). Related Europe's 'wake up call': What lessons can be learned from Spain and Portugal's power outage? Paul Cuffe, an assistant professor of electrical and electronic engineering at the University of College Dublin, said power grids are often synchronised or interconnected, which means that if "something untoward were to happen with the generator in Madrid, it can immediately be felt in Barcelona or Lisbon," he told Euronews Next. System operators that control the power grid are looking to maintain the balance between how much power the grid supplies and how much is being consumed, he said. To hit that balance, operators stay around the 50 hertz mark, he continued. The metric can tick slightly up or down without causing a risk of a blackout. The failure of the Iberian grid likely happened quickly and unexpectedly, he said. "Suddenly there's a flurry of alarms, [a system operator] blinks and looks at the display, where, for the last five years, there's been no hint of trouble… and [thinks] what on Earth was that?" Cuffe said. Related Amid major outage, health workers in Spain and Portugal adapted to provide urgent care without power A balancing act After a blackout, the challenge of getting the grid back online starts. ADVERTISEMENT A spokesperson for Eurelectric, the sector association that represents Europe's energy industry, said that the grid has to do what's called a "black start," where it uses "generation assets that don't require grid electricity to be started" to get the power back on. In the case of the Iberian blackout, the association's spokesperson continued, this came in the form of hydropower, but can also be done with diesel or gas. The electricity from these alternative sources is then fed into the grid and used to bring essential services, like hospitals or defense sites, back online. From there, the energy is "slowly ramped up" and is 'carefully matched against additional demand brought onto the system,' Eurelectric continued. ADVERTISEMENT "If the balancing is not nearly perfect, it can cause another outage". The role of renewables In 2024, Red Eléctrica announced that 56 per cent of Spain's power was produced by renewable energy. The grid operator also confirmed on April 16 this year that they hit 100 per cent renewable energy supply. On Tuesday, data from REN showed that at 6 pm CET, 77 per cent of the energy generated in Portugal was from renewables. ADVERTISEMENT The introduction of renewables like solar and wind to the grid, coupled with new consumption patterns and big consumers, makes the grid system more 'complex' to balance, REN said. ENTSO-e warned earlier this month that solar energy could be overproduced as the good weather starts to come. To mitigate this, ENTSO-e said that transmission system operators would be setting up dedicated specialty teams to manage the power supply, through more flexibility with resources and information sharing over borders. Euronews Next reached out to Spain's Red Electrica and REN to ask about what preparations were taken in response to ENTSO-e's warning, but did not receive an immediate reply. ADVERTISEMENT Cuffe said that while the role of renewables is "relevant," he cautions that power grids have failed long before the inclusion of these new types of energy. "It would be wrong to jump the gun. But it would [also] be wrong for me to take an overly defensive position for how dare they besmirch renewable energy," he said. "That grid was at a very high renewable penetration, and that could be relevant". What happens next? Eurelectric said that as the power comes back, a safety check needs to be done to make sure nothing along the grid's power line was damaged or could lead to a further blackout. ADVERTISEMENT Euronews Next also asked Red Electrica and REN whether these safety checks have taken place, but did not receive an immediate reply. The grid will eventually come back to normal rates of power, Eurelectric said, and the time it will take depends on the severity and size of the outage. There's still other investigations to come. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and his Portuguese counterpart, Luis Montenegro, have asked the European Commission to deliver an independent report about the cause of Monday's blackout. ADVERTISEMENT A Commission official told Euronews that it is not up to them to conduct the investigation. It will be led by a transmission system operator (TSO) from a member state that isn't connected to the incident and will have members from Spain, Portugal, and France on a panel to contribute their expertise. The panel will have up to six months to deliver a fact-finding report about the blackout that will explain the causes of the incident and a series of recommendations. Luis Calama, a judge on Spain's National Court, said that he will launch a preliminary investigation into whether the blackout may have been a cyberattack, despite many refutals by various government leaders that that is not the case.
Iraqi News
26-03-2025
- Business
- Iraqi News
Increased Turkish electricity exports to Iraq face challenges
Baghdad ( – At the time the United States decided not to extend the waiver it had given to Iraq to cover energy imports from Iran, Iraq's plans to boost Turkish energy supplies may not be successful until next summer, which might worsen Baghdad's situation. The European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-e) confirmed that it may take several months for Turkish energy to begin flowing to Iraq, according to Attaqa News. After the ENTSO-e gives its approval, Ankara plans to boost Turkish electricity exports to Iraq by about 300 megawatts. In mid-March, during a meeting with the Iraqi Minister of Electricity, Ziyad Ali Fadel, the Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Alparslan Bayraktar, stated that the Iraq-Turkey electrical interconnection project would raise electricity supplies to Iraq to 600 megawatts in the upcoming months, according to a statement cited by the Iraqi News Agency (INA). Bayraktar also expressed his country's interest in strengthening cooperation with Iraq in several areas, especially the energy sector. Last July, the Turkish and Iraqi governments successfully established an electrical interconnection line that currently provides Iraq with 300 megawatts of electricity. The Iraqi government is apparently attempting to expand its electricity imports from neighboring Turkey following statements made by Iraqi officials last week that the United States' sanctions waiver for the import of Iranian electrical power has been canceled. Additionally, the spokesperson of the US Department of State, Tammy Bruce, said earlier in March that the US administration is urging the Iraqi government to eliminate its dependence on Iranian sources of energy as soon as possible.
