The ESB has asked its largest 450 industrial customers to agree to halt production at short notice in an attempt to avert a looming power shortage.
The move follows a crisis last month when the company came within minutes of having to cut supplies because of a series of problems at major generating plants. The semi-State firm faced the prospect of not having sufficient power to meet the peaktime demand of 25,000 households. The cross-Border interconnector was working at capacity at the time, importing enough electricity from Northern Ireland for 200,000 homes.
The incident occurred on October 21st, but the crisis was averted when workers at the Aghada plant in Co Cork managed to repair a unit and get it generating power within minutes of the daily 5 p.m.8 p.m. peak time surge in demand.
Last month's problem is an indication of a greater power crisis being predicted by industry sources. With expected annual power demands for the next two years growing faster than electricity generation capacity, there are real concerns that the ESB will not be able to meet peak demand during the winter of 2001-2002.
The capacity of the two new power stations expected to come into operation during that period will not even meet the increased demand.
Planning permission has been granted for two private power stations in Dublin which would provide the necessary capacity, but both are the subject of planning appeals which will not be heard by An Bord Pleanala until early next year.
The construction of a plant would take up to 2 1/2 years to complete, so the new generating stations will not resolve the problems looming in the winter of 2001-2002.
"We have been monitoring the situation extremely carefully and we are managing it prudently to ensure supplies," an ESB spokesman said.
A spokesman for the Minister of Public Enterprise, Ms O'Rourke, said she had been fully briefed on the issue this week by the ESB chairman, Mr Billy McCann. He assured the Minister there would be no problems this winter. The Minister was concerned about the scheduling of the Bord Pleanala hearings, but there was nothing she could do about this.
To ease the chances of demand outstripping supply, the ESB is offering discount rates and bonus payments to its major customers who agree to curtail their peaktime demands at short notice.