Number of Limerick ESB customers to be without power until Friday

THOUSANDS of Limerick home, business and property owners woke up this morning for their third day without power.

Power outages remain dotted around the county from Castleconnell to Colmanswell and Abbeyfeale to Doon.

The restoration time for some of the "lucky" ones is this Sunday or Monday evenings. However, some will have to wait until Friday for the lights to come on, according to the restoration time on the ESB PowerCheck map.

There are fears that the Status Yellow wind warning associated with Storm Herminia will bring further damage to already weakened structures and trees.  

The latest national information from ESB, as of Saturday evening, is that approximately 402,000 homes, farms and businesses remain without power, ESB Networks teams have restored power to 366,000 customers since Friday afternoon. 

"Extreme, damaging and destructive winds associated with Storm Éowyn have caused widespread and extensive damage to the electricity network across the country. The impact on customers and damage to the electricity network nationwide is unprecedented. This is by far the worst storm experienced by ESB Networks both in terms of customers losing supply and the scale of damage across the network. 

"Power restoration by all ESB Networks crews and partner contractors will continue late into the (Saturday) evening and will commence once again at first light tomorrow morning, and we expect to make good progress restoring supplies over the weekend and into next week, wind conditions permitting," said an ESB spokesperson.

They say the restoration time required for the storm response remains dynamic given the widespread and extensive damage to the network.

"Having restored power to over 366,000 customers, we expect to restore power to a further 300,000 by Friday night, January 31. For the remaining customers, these will progressively have power restored over the course of the following week. This will remain dynamic and weather conditions may impact on the restoration work. 

"Estimated restoration times (ERTs) are being updated this evening and tomorrow and will be available to view on ww.PowerCheck.ie and updated as our work progresses. We advise customers to sign up for our “Keep me Notified” service for power outages on www.PowerCheck.ie to receive status updates directly," said the ESB spokesperson.

ESB has also issued an important public safety message.

"We have been made aware of several instances of potentially very dangerous incidents where members of the public have unknowingly approached fallen electricity infrastructure. Fallen debris after a storm can prevent people from seeing hidden risks such as wires entangled into trees and branches.

"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. 

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

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