Written answers
Tuesday, 14 May 2024
Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment
Electricity Grid
Violet-Anne Wynne (Clare, Independent)
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113. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if he is aware that there were two orange alerts on the grid in recent months as high energy demand units continue to be added to the network; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21376/24]
Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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EirGrid and ESB-Networks operate a range of tools to keep electricity supply and demand in constant balance to ensure a secure supply of electricity for their customers.
‘System Alerts’ (previously known as amber alerts) are issued by EirGrid when the buffer between electricity supply and demand is tighter than optimum. It serves as a warning to the wider electricity sector to take pre-planned actions to protect the integrity of the grid and avoid entering ‘System Emergency’ when there is a risk that not all electricity demand can be met.
Over winter 2023/24 there were two System Alerts. The first in November was due to a number of forced outages of generation plant occurring at the same time as low wind generation. The second alert in January was due to Storm Isha damaging transmission lines in the Northwest. Over 235,000 customers were without electricity at peak, with the worst damage to the power system in the last 10 years. ESB Networks and EirGrid engineers worked tirelessly to get customers reconnected swiftly and safely.
Large Energy Users (LEUs) can participate voluntarily in the electricity market by offering demand for reduction on a commercial basis by third-party aggregators, as Demand Side Units (DSUs). These DSUs would have been dispatched at various times throughout the winter by the System Operator as a normal market-based measure to balance demand and supply.
If further support is required during a power system emergency, EirGrid can instruct LEUs to implement Mandatory Demand Curtailment (MDC). MDC requires LEUs to reduce their demand by up to 75%, with one hours’ notice, to ensure grid stability. EirGrid has confirmed that no MDC instructions were issued in the last year.
To ensure the security of our electricity supply over the coming winters the Commission for Regulation of Utilities is leading an Electricity Security of Supply Programme of Actions. The latest update on this programme can be found here: www.cru.ie/publications/27004/.
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