A defunct  power station in Co Offaly is understood to be costing the ESB about €60,000 per week to keep open.

Efforts to reach an agreement with workers to close the plant at Rhode are expected to intensify next week, a fortnight after staff voted against talks' proposals.

Although workers are clocking in every day, the plant has not produced any power since a worker was seriously injured in an explosion in May last year. While the ESB board decided earlier this year to close the power station, workers have refused to engage in a talks process.

The company was understood to have set the beginning of October as a deadline for closure before the vote last Tuesday week.

Its chairman, Mr Tadhg O'Donoghue, and senior managers are understood to be anxious to avoid a repeat of the situation at another Co Offaly plant, in Ferbane, which stayed open without power production for two years before its closure last December, costing the ESB €8.89 million.

The staff at Rhode want compensation for anxiety linked to their exposure to asbestos after a small number of workers contracted an asbestos-related illness known as pleural plaque.

They want any such compensation discussed together with a closure package. The ESB is fundamentally opposed to that and its position was endorsed by the Joint Industrial Council at the company.

Efforts next week to restart the process are expected to include a dialogue between central and local management and the trade union representatives. While the Group of Unions will be represented, the discussion is also expected to involve the plant's shop stewards.

This unusual development is thought to reflect the failure of the Group of Unions to secure support for the last talks proposal, which was defeated in the vote by 65 per cent to 31 per cent. Certain workers refused to engage with representatives of the Group of Unions when they visited the plant some weeks ago, it is believed.

Certain observers believe staff who remain well are using the asbestos issue as a lever to secure a better settlement over the plant's closure. The matter has been compared with the army deafness saga, when former soldiers received compensation for zero damages to their hearing.

Certain workers at Ferbane received upfront payments of two times salary together with ongoing payment of half their salary until retirement age. Rhode staff are thought to be seeking a better deal.

These peat-burning plants are among six in the midlands that are being closed to make way for two larger stations in Lanesboro, Co Longford, and Shannonbridge, Co Offaly.