ESB battles to restore power to 20,000

An estimated 20,000 people are beginning the week without power as ESB crews continue their battle to repair the damage caused by the worst storm in two decades.

Almost all of the remaining faults are across the southern half of the country, despite the efforts of up to 3,000 workers tasked by the ESB with restoring the network.

Approximately 1,500 crews worked throughout much of yesterday, with a full complement of crews due to resume work today.

The large-scale outages which plunged 296,000 into darkness on Wednesday have been repaired.

However, individual faults hitting dozens of homes exist in a plethora of pockets scattered across Kerry, Cork, Limerick, Waterford, Wexford, and parts of Tipperary.

Other utilities are also still struggling to get back to normal.

Eircom said that about 25,000 customers remained without service this morning, down from 30,000 yesterday morning.

Areas worst hit were in the south and south-west, where the stormy weather caused unprecedented levels of damage.

The ESB is also concerned that the damage done to its network will pose a lingering danger to members of the public this week.

It said that, particularly as school children were off on their mid-term break, parents should make a special effort to warn them about the threat posed by fallen power lines.

“The improvement in weather conditions, coinciding with the mid-term break, means that more children will be outdoors playing this week,” said an ESB spokesperson.

“ESB Networks are reminding members of the public not to go near fallen lines, as there is a chance that they may be live. We are also asking parents, teachers and sports coaches to warn children in their care of the dangers of approaching fallen lines.”

According to Met Éireann, this week’s weather will bring the first sustained period of respite for a number of weeks. The forecast is for dry, cold weather. Strong winds and heavy rain are expected on Wednesday and Thursday but without the ferocity of recent storms.