Thousands warned they could be without power for a week as Storm Darragh leaves its mark

ESB Networks is warning that some of the more than 175,000 customers who remain without power following Storm Darragh may not have their supply restored for a week.

Crews have deployed across the country since early this Saturday morning and power has been restored to more than 220,000 customers throughout the day.

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

In its latest update, ESB Networks says approximately 175,000 homes, farms and businesses remain without power this Saturday night due to the widespread and extensive damage which was caused to the electricity network across the country. 

"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. Large numbers of customers impacted by Storm Darragh have had their power restored throughout today but significant numbers may be without supply for a number of days," said a spokesperson.

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Members of the Defence Forces and local authority crews have also been deployed across the day to clear roads and assist with repairs where required.

Due to the severity and significant scale of the damage, ESB Networks says an assessment of the extent of damage is continuing but that it's likely some customers could be without power for approximately a week.

For updates on outages and expected restoration times, see PowerCheck.ie.