As with all severe weather events, lessons learned from Storm Amy will form part of ongoing work to strengthen the performance and resilience of the national electricity distribution system.
My Department engaged in significant preparatory work in advance of Storm Amy including attending technical briefings hosted by the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management (NDFEM). These briefings included significant inputs from Met Éireann on the arrival of Storm Amy and the warnings that would come into play which assisted agencies in their preparedness.
Officials in my Department were in regular contact with their counterparts in ESB Networks (ESB-N) and EirGrid prior to the storm's arrival on Friday 3 October and throughout that weekend. Officials attended sub-groups hosted by the NDFEM that dealt with the humanitarian response and the impacts on all critical infrastructure.
I am advised that ESB-N entered preparedness mode in advance of Storm Amy and mobilised repair crews and contract partners to the areas that were expected to be most impacted. ESB-N developed and issued Public Safety Messages ahead of the arrival of Storm Amy, alongside Local Authorities and State Agencies. There was significant engagement between these parties to identify critical sites for urgent repairs and ensure timely access.
The information requested in relation to ESB-N is an operational matter for ESB-N and, as such, the Deputy may wish to contact ESB-N directly. ESB has a dedicated email address for Oireachtas members which is Oireachtas@esb.ie.
