Gas company makes brave winter promise to over 8,000 households in Laois

More than 8,000 householders and almost 300 non-residential customers of gas are unlikely to have their supply disrupted his winter.

That's the implication of a forecast made by Gas Networks Ireland which maintains Ireland’s €2.7bn, 14,664km national gas network. With more than 8,000 houses and business connected, Laois has one of the highest rates of gas use in Ireland outside the big cities and Greater Dublin Area counties.

In a statement the company says it does not envisage any disruption to gas supply during the winter months according to the network operator’s 2022/23 Winter Outlook.

It said Winter Outlook indicates that there is both enough gas supply sources and enough network capacity to meet the anticipated gas demand projections over the coming winter period, including in the case of an extremely cold day that would only occur once every 50 years. 

A statement said that it is expected that about 21% of the State’s natural gas requirements will be supplied from the Corrib gas field off the coast of Co Mayo during the 2022/23 winter period.  It added that gas supplies from Great Britain via the Moffat interconnector – which is Ireland’s entry point for imported gas - will account for 79% of overall gas demand this winter. It is also claimed that that indigenous supplies in Great Britain and supplies from Norway will continue to be the main sources of gas in Great Britain this year.

Gas Networks says the forecasted flows of gas from these sources are similar to the previous winter and coupled with the UK’s LNG (Liquified Natural Gas) supply and gas reserves means there are flexible and dependable supplies to meet variable demand.

Maurice Power said Gas Networks Ireland’s Future Networks Manager.

“The invasion of Ukraine by Russia in February of this year has led to ongoing concerns here in Ireland and across Europe about gas supply and energy security. However, while there is an elevated risk of disruption due to the uncertainty resulting from the war in Ukraine, we are not forecasting any disruption to gas supply this winter. There is currently enough gas supply and network capacity to meet the State’s expected needs.

“At Gas Networks Ireland we have robust and tested procedures in place to manage a gas supply shortage. We actively work with the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC) and the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) – the body responsible for Ireland’s security of energy supply, to ensure the risk of a supply disruption is minimised.”

“We appreciate people may be concerned about energy usage as we head into the winter months. Gas customers can find practical advice and information, such as how to read your gas meter and provide this to your energy supplier on our website,” it said.

The latest Central Statistics Office figures show that there are 290 non-residential gas meters in Laois with 8,100 residential meters connected to the network. 

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Gas Networks Ireland’s Winter Outlook 2022/23 can be found www.gasnetworks.ie/winter- outlook-2022.pdf

Almost 720,000 Irish homes and businesses rely on the gas network for energy. More tahn 30% of Ireland’s total energy, including 40% of all heating and almost 50% of the country’s electricity generation is gas dependent.