ESB Networks has said that 55,000 homes, farms and businesses remain without power following the strong winds associated with Storm Darragh.
The storm brought gusts of around 140km/hr to parts of the country and caused widespread and extensive damage to the electricity network.
ESB Networks teams have already restored power to 340,000 customers impacted by the storm.
The impact is nationwide but some of the most affected areas are in the north-west, midlands and south-east.
Storm Darragh
All ESB Networks crews, with extensive support from partner contractors, will continue working into this evening and tonight (Sunday, December 8) to safely restore power to as many customers as possible in challenging conditions.
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.
While the majority of customers impacted by Storm Darragh have had their power restored, ESB Networks said that 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,” a spokesperson said.
Customers will be provided with updates on estimated restoration times through the ESB’s Power Check website.
ESB Networks again acknowledged the disruption caused by the power outages and thanked customers who will remain without power overnight for their patience.
Members of the public who come across fallen wires or damaged electricity network are being advised to never touch or approach these as they are live and extremely dangerous.
If you want to report any damage to electricity infrastructure you can call ESB Networks on 1800 372 999.
In Northern Ireland, approximately 7,000 customers remain without power following extensive damage to the network caused by Storm Darragh.
Northern Ireland Electricity Networks (NIE Networks) said that in the region of 95,000 customers were impacted by power cuts over the course of the storm.
“At this stage we have worked through a lot of the faults which impact on larger numbers of customers and are now moving towards those faults where small numbers are affected,” Alex Houston, network operations manager for NIE Networks, explained.
“We estimate that the vast majority of customers will be restored by Monday evening however there is the potential that small pockets will remain off supply into Tuesday.
“Around 850 faults across Northern Ireland remain but our teams will be working to restore customers as quickly as they can,” he said.
Water
Meanwhile, Uisce Éireann is continuing its work to restore water services to customers following the impact of Storm Darragh on water and wastewater services.
Crews have been working across the country to restore water supplies impacted by the storm.
Since yesterday, approximately 40,000 additional customers have had their water supply restored.
Many areas which lost water can expect to see their supply returning over the course of today.
However, Uisce Éireann said that there are a number of locations where it will take longer to restore supply.
These are generally areas where ongoing power outages have impacted on treatment plants and network pumping stations.
Current estimates indicate that 35 of Uisce Éireann’s 698 water treatment plants are currently affected due to storm-related issues.
They include the Manorcunningham and Letterkenny areas of Co. Donegal, Carrick-on-Shannon in Co. Leitrim, Longford town, Trim in Co. Meath and parts of north Cork around Kanturk and Newmarket.
In some instances repairs have been complicated by bursts on the network which may take longer to repair.
Margaret Attridge, head of Water Operations with Uisce Éireann said that crews have been carrying out repairs across the network and deploying generators and alternative water supplies as needed.
“We are also working closely with the ESB to return power to key water treatment plants and wastewater assets.
“We would like to thank the public for their support and patience. Where supplies have been restored it may take a number of hours for normal supply to return to all customers, particularly those on higher ground or at the ends of the network.
“In these areas in particular, we would remind people to continue to conserve water where possible to allow reservoirs and networks to refill as quickly as possible,” she said.