Northern Ireland electricity system operator SONI has changed its Winter Outlook report after , Storm Darragh caused “significant and unforeseen damage” at a gas-fired power station.
The annual Winter Outlook sets out SONI’s assessment of the expected consumer demand for electricity against the expected available generation over the winter period.
The System Operator for Northern Ireland (SONI) published the Winter Outlook on 8 October 2024, concluding there would be sufficient generation to meet consumer demand in normal operating conditions, with more margin than the previous year due to the connection of two new gas turbines.
Now SONI says that the storm “resulted in the loss of a significant amount of conventional generation” and as a result of this damage “three of six large generators in Northern Ireland were forced into extended outage, necessary to assess and resolve damage caused by the storm”. Local reports stated that chimneys had been damaged at the Ballylumford power station. SONI’s revised outlook, “still indicates that there will be sufficient generation to meet consumer demand in normal operating conditions, with the risk of disruption to the electricity supply remaining low. There is no risk of blackouts where the expected portfolio of conventional generation remains available. However, the power system will be operating at an increased level of risk for the remainder of the Winter period.” It anticipates that January will be the period with least margin available.
The update covers the period from 13 January to 31 March.