5,000 Homes Still Without Power as ESB Networks Battles to Restore Supply After Storm Sweeps South and West
Around 5,000 homes and businesses across Ireland remained without electricity on Wednesday morning following a period of strong winds and heavy rain that caused widespread outages, with ESB Networks crews working across multiple counties to restore supply — while Met Éireann warned drivers to remain vigilant about localised flooding, poor visibility, and difficult road conditions as the clean-up continued.
Background
Ireland's electricity network is regularly tested by Atlantic weather systems, and the autumn and winter months typically bring a series of storms that cause outages across the country. The network has been significantly upgraded in recent years, with ESB Networks investing heavily in undergrounding cables, replacing ageing infrastructure, and improving the resilience of the system in areas that are particularly vulnerable to storm damage. Despite these improvements, the combination of high winds and heavy rain that characterised the weather event of September 29-30 proved sufficient to cause widespread disruption, particularly in the south and west of the country where the storm was most intense.
The current outages are distinct from the catastrophic damage caused by Storm Éowyn in 2025, which left over 768,000 customers without power at its peak and caused unprecedented damage to the national electricity network. The September 2026 event is significantly smaller in scale, but it has nonetheless caused real disruption to thousands of households and businesses, many of whom are still dealing with the aftermath of previous weather events.
Status Yellow wind and rain warnings were issued for 12 Irish counties on September 29, with the most severe conditions experienced in Munster and the southern half of the country. Fallen trees and blocked roads were reported across multiple counties, with local authorities deploying crews to clear debris and restore access to affected communities.
Key Developments
At the peak of the outages on the evening of September 29, more than 20,000 electricity customers were without supply. By the morning of September 30, ESB Networks had reduced that figure to just under 5,000 as crews worked through the night to restore connections. The most significant concentrations of outages were in counties Cork, Kerry, Limerick, and Clare, where the storm was most intense and where the network is most exposed to Atlantic weather systems.
ESB Networks confirmed that it had deployed additional crews from other regions to assist with the restoration effort and that it was prioritising the reconnection of vulnerable customers — including those who depend on electricity for medical equipment — ahead of other affected households. The company indicated that it expected to have the majority of remaining outages resolved by Wednesday evening, though some customers in remote rural areas might face a longer wait due to the difficulty of accessing damaged infrastructure.
Met Éireann issued a post-storm advisory urging drivers to exercise caution on roads across the south and west, noting that localised flooding, fallen branches, and debris remained hazards in many areas. The advisory also warned of the risk of further disruption if a secondary weather system, which was tracking across the Atlantic, proved more intense than currently forecast.
Why It Matters
Power outages of this scale matter because they affect not just comfort but safety, particularly for elderly and vulnerable people who depend on electricity for heating, medical equipment, and communication. The concentration of outages in the south and west of Ireland — areas that already face challenges related to rural isolation and limited public services — means that the impact falls disproportionately on communities that are least well-placed to cope with disruption. The timing, at the start of autumn when temperatures are beginning to fall, adds to the urgency of restoration.
The event also serves as a reminder of the ongoing vulnerability of Ireland's electricity network to extreme weather, at a time when the country is seeking to dramatically increase its dependence on renewable energy — particularly wind power — which is itself weather-dependent. The transition to a renewable energy system requires not just the installation of wind turbines and solar panels but also a significant upgrade of the grid infrastructure that connects generation to consumers, and the September 2026 outages illustrate the consequences of any delay in that upgrade programme.
Local Impact
In Cork city and county, where some of the most significant outages occurred, businesses in affected areas reported disruption to trading, with some forced to close temporarily due to the loss of power. In rural Kerry and Limerick, farmers reported difficulties with milking equipment and livestock management systems that depend on electricity. Irish Rail reported minor delays on some services due to signalling issues caused by the outages, while Bus Éireann maintained its services but warned of delays on routes affected by fallen trees and road closures. Cork University Hospital and other major healthcare facilities in the affected region confirmed that they had switched to backup generators and that patient care had not been compromised.
What's Next
ESB Networks has indicated that it expects to restore supply to the vast majority of affected customers by Wednesday evening. A full assessment of the damage to the network will be carried out once restoration is complete, with the findings feeding into the company's ongoing investment programme. Met Éireann will continue to monitor the secondary weather system tracking across the Atlantic and will issue further warnings if necessary. Local authorities in the affected counties are continuing to clear debris from roads and public spaces, with the work expected to take several days to complete.
