Vivienne Clarke
The ESB’s regional customer delivery manager, Brian Tapley, has said that it could be the end of the week before power is restored to the 16,000 homes that remain without power in the wake of Storm Darragh.
Mr Tapley told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland that while power could be restored to many homes and premises on Tuesday, it would be the end of the week before power could be restored in remote areas in the north west, the midlands, and parts of the south east.
“Pockets are out all over the country”, he explained, as low voltage network faults mean that only eight to 10 homes are restored with each repair.
60 technicians from France arrived in the country on Monday to assist in restoring power along with teams from Northern Ireland Electricity.
Mr Tapley explained that there is a reciprocal agreement between Ireland, the UK, and France in terms of assisting in power restoration.
During Storm Ciarán a team of ESB staff assisted in restoring power to 1.2 million customers in France.
Work to restore power to small pockets will continue involving removal of debris, he added, that was why it could be the end of the week before power is restored to everybody.