ESB says storm damage unprecedented as 15,000 lose power in Laois

Storm  Éowyn caused widespread damage to the electrical network across Laois where an estimated 15,000 homes and businesses suffered power outages. 

ESB Networks has now nationally recorded 725,000 customers outages and the traffic to its powercheck website caused it to crash this morning. 

The ESB’s Powercheck website is now back up and running after the crash.  It provides a clearer picture of the damage caused to ESB Networks  in Laois by Storm Éowyn. 

As of 11am this morning there were faults across the county but repairs were also taking place so the numbers are regularly changing. 

In Portlaoise there were three faults with the largest in the Kilminchy area where 1,407 homes and businesses lost power at around 4am. In Borris Little a further 223 properties are without power while a third smaller fault has impacted 28 properties at Bellad. 

In Mountmellick, a fault at around 2am left 1,905 homes and businesses without power while a second at 3.48 am left a further 661 properties without power. 

In Portarlington the largest fault occurred at around 3am when 853 homes and businesses lost power.  Two other faults occurred impacting 52 and 29 properties in the area. 

In Mountrath a major fault logged at 10.42am left 852 homes and businesses without power. 

In Abbeyleix there were two faults registered. One impacted 474 properties and the second affecting 131 homes and businesses. 

In Timahoe there were 250 properties without power this morning. 

The ESB Networks also has a number of faults logged rural locations across the county.  

Details of the power outages and expected restoration times are available at: https://powercheck.esbnetworks.ie/

A screengrab of some of the faults in Laois this morning

In a statement this afternoon the ESB said: “Extreme, damaging and destructive winds associated with Storm Éowyn have continued to cause widespread and extensive damage to the electricity network across the country with approx. 725,000 homes, farms and businesses (as at 12.30pm) without power. The damage nationwide to the electricity network and impact on customers is unprecedented. 

The worst of Storm Éowyn has now passed for most of the country but with Met Éireann Status Red and Orange wind warnings remaining in place in parts until later this afternoon, further power outages may still arise as the storm continues to track northwards. 

ESB Networks continue to closely monitor the storm impact on power supplies and all available resources including crews and partner contractors are now deployed where safe to do so, to assess the network and work to safely restore power as quickly as possible in challenging conditions. 

From our experience of previous significant weather events and due to the severity of Storm Éowyn, we expect that power restoration will take a significant number of days and will take more than a week in the worst impacted areas.  

It is important that any impacted customers who use electrically powered medical devices contact their healthcare professional to make alternative arrangements if necessary. 

Given the extent of the damage nationwide estimated restoration times (ERTs) will only be provided once our teams have assessed network faults and these will then be available to view throughout Saturday on www.PowerCheck.ie.  

Our Customer Contact Centre Agents will be supporting customers throughout Storm Éowyn but will not be in a position to provide outage information until the network assessment has been fully conducted. To note, a technical issue earlier today due to unprecedented volumes on ESB websites, including www.PowerCheck.ie, has now been fully resolved. 

An Important Public Safety Message: If you come across fallen wires or damaged electricity network, never, ever touch or approach these as they are LIVE and extremely dangerous. Please report any damage to electricity infrastructure by calling 1800 372 999. "