Newsroom

• As at 5pm on Sunday, 8^th December, approximately 55,000 homes, farms and businesses remain without power. Power has been restored to 340,000 customers following Storm Darragh  
• There has been widespread and extensive damage to electricity infrastructure across the country. The impact is similar to that of Storm Ophelia in 2017
• All ESB Networks crews and partner contractors will continue working into this evening and tonight to safely restore power to as many customers as possible in challenging conditions. Furthermore, crews from French counterparts, Enedis, are sailing overnight and will arrive tomorrow to assist with power restoration in the worst impacted areas
• Significant numbers will be without supply for a number of days. Due to the severity and significant scale of the damage some customers could be without power for approximately a week. Assessment of the extent of the damage is continuing
• Given the scale of the damage and the dynamic nature of the event, we will continue to estimate restoration times for customers. Updates on www.PowerCheck.ie
• Stay Safe, Stay Clear of fallen electricity wires. Report any damage to the network by calling 1800 372 999

Issued: 5pm on Sunday, 8^th December 2024 

As at 5pm today, approximately 55,000 homes, farms and businesses remain without power following extremely strong and gusty winds associated with Storm Darragh which caused widespread and extensive damage to the electricity network across the country. ESB Networks teams have restored power to 340,000 customers impacted by Storm Darragh.

The impact is nationwide but some of the most affected areas are in the North West, Midlands and South East.

Storm Darragh is similar in impact to Storm Ophelia in 2017, which left 385,000 customers without power at the peak but with more widespread impact across the country.

All ESB Networks crews, with extensive support from partner contractors (full list below), will continue working into this evening and tonight to safely restore power to as many customers as possible in challenging conditions. Furthermore, crews from French counterparts Enedis are sailing overnight and will arrive tomorrow to assist with power restoration in the worst impacted areas. There is longstanding cooperation in place with electricity network operators in Ireland, the UK and France in providing such support. 

The majority of customers impacted by Storm Darragh have had their power restored but significant numbers will be without supply for a number of days. Due to the severity and significant scale of the damage some customers could be without power for approximately a week. Assessment of the extent of damage is continuing.

It is important that any impacted customers who use electrically powered medical devices contact their healthcare professional to make alternative arrangements if necessary.

Given the scale of the damage and the dynamic nature of the event, we will continue to update estimated restoration times for customers and we will update www.PowerCheck.ie as information is confirmed. We advise customers to sign up for our “Keep me Updated” service for power outages on www.PowerCheck.ie to receive status updates directly. Our Customer Contact Centre Agents will be supporting customers throughout Storm Darragh but will not be in a position to provide outage information until the network assessment has been fully conducted which is still ongoing in some of the worst affected areas.

We acknowledge the disruption to family and commercial life this causes, and thank customers across the country, especially those who will again remain without power overnight, for their patience as our crews work to safely restore power.

An Important Public Safety Message: If you come across fallen wires or damaged electricity network, never, ever touch or approach these as they are LIVE and extremely dangerous. Please report any damage to electricity infrastructure by calling 1800 372 999.