Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 27 September 2023
47. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the number of generators purchased to provide dispatchable power to the grid when other sources are not supplying sufficient quantities; to set out the fuel type they use; and the cost of purchasing them. [41849/23]
View answerThe Commission of Regulation of Utilities (CRU) which has statutory responsibility to ensure security of supply, has the duty to monitor electricity supplies and to take such measures as it considers necessary to protect the security of supply. It is assisted in its role by EirGrid, the electricity transmission system operator, and my Department.
The CRU currently has a programme of actions underway to ensure the security of our electricity supply over the coming winters. Regular updates on this programme, which includes a range of demand and supply side measures are published on the CRU website.
Electricity supply margins are expected to remain tight throughout this year. The CRU is continuing to work with key stakeholders to implement appropriate mitigation measures to further reduce risks over winter and lower peak demand during this period.
One of the primary measures in the programme is the delivery of approximately 650MW of Temporary Emergency Generation (TEG) capacity at four sites around the country - two sites will be gas fuelled and two will run on Distillate. The TEG units are constrained by both run-hours and operational procedures which will only permit utilisation of the units at times of system stress.
The first of these TEG sites is expected to be operational at the end of October to provide backup capacity during times of system stress. The combination of TEG capacity and new capacity market projects, such as batteries and flexible generation units, are expected to provide an additional 314MW of new generation capacity by the end of December with a further 256MW forecasted to be in place by the end of March.
