Storms could lead to more blackouts

ESB crews remain on high alert as Met Éireann has forecast more storms over the next 48 hours, increasing the risk of further power cuts.

More than 10,000 ESB customers were left in the dark yesterday morning after lightning strikes which blacked out a stretch from parts of Wexford into Drogheda and Dundalk. The main line into Waterford city at Misery Hill was also struck directly by fork lightning, leaving about 2,000 homes and businesses without power for several hours yesterday morning.

An ESB spokesman said there was little the company could do in such a storm.

"Lightning is attracted to electricity it's just part of the natural law of physics," said the ESB's Kevin MacDermott. "What we would say to the general public is that if their power does go out, even for just a few seconds, they should be extremely careful.

"In a strike, they should treat all appliances as live and not mess with anything. We have a good service from Met Éireann and they alert us when storms are coming. We received such a storm warning over the weekend. They have forecast a high risk of thunder until mid-week. All we can do is be on the alert and ready to go out and fix faults, when they do occur.

"The situation is also complicated by the fact we can't work on a fault while the stormy weather continues. For the safety of our crews, we have to let such systems pass first,"

The storms hit Enniscorthy and New Ross in Wexford first yesterday at about 7am, causing power failures there until about 10.30am.

The system then travelled up towards Waterford and across the north-east, hitting power services in Drogheda and Dundalk. At the peak of the storm, as many as 10,000 customers were without power.

The major fault at Mount Misery was compounded by the fact that the main line was down after a direct lightning hit. Such hits are very rare. Power was also restored early yesterday to several hundred customers in the midlands and Louth.