Paul Bradford
Question:23 Mr. Bradford asked the Minister for Public Enterprise the number of red alerts and amber alerts recorded by the ESB in 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24108/01]
Written Answers. - ESB Safety Alerts.
Alerts are operational matters for the ESB in the normal course and are not routinely notified to my Department.
It is useful to define what is meant by the terms "red alert" and "amber alert". A red alert occurs when there is a significant deviation from the normal operating standard, signalling an "emergency state" in regard to power. An amber alert occurs when there is a contraction in the normal operating reserve caused, for example, by the tripping of a large generating unit.
The ESB has informed me of the record of alerts for the years 1996-2000 which I have set out in the following table:
|
Year |
Amber |
Red |
|
1996 |
4 |
1 |
|
1997 |
3 |
0 |
|
1998 |
26 |
1 |
|
1999 |
49 |
2 |
|
2000 |
46 |
0 |
The respective figures for 2001 to date are 23 amber alerts and zero red alerts.