Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 15 July 2020
72. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if he will request a full report from the ESB as to the reason for repeated electricity outages in Lusk, north County Dublin; the way in which the issue will be rectified; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16234/20]
View answerThis is an operational matter for the Board and Management of ESB as regulated by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities and not one in which I, as Minister, have a statutory function.
My Department did, however, contact ESB and I understand the position to be as follows.
There have been a number of power outages on the medium voltage overhead line in the area recently, which I'm told appear to have been caused by a combination of timber/tree contact, lightning strikes and intermittent electrical faults.
ESB Networks have undertaken mitigating actions, including foot and aerial line inspections, timber/tree cutting along the line, analysis of network protection data to pinpoint fault locations and thermal/infra-red line surveys. This work is ongoing and their local team is endeavouring to improve network performance in the area.
