Closure threat at Dublin power plants could '˜threaten supply'

The reorganisation of how electricity is supplied across the island of Ireland is said to have forced the closure of two power plants in Dublin.

Shutting down at the Huntstown facilities, which have the capacity to supply 20% of the Republic’s electricity needs, could put the “continued security of supply” in the greater Dublin area at risk, owners Viridian have said.

The news comes just days after the owners of Kilroot power plant in Co Antrim said the loss of its generating contract – following the bidding process for the all-Ireland electricity market from May this year – meant the plant was no longer viable.

Viridian said the award of a contract to only one of the two Dublin plants rendered the continued operation of the other unviable, and revealed it had issued “protective notice” redundancy warnings to 40 staff on Friday.

Eirgrid, which manages the network south of the border, said it was working to ensure that in the event of both Viridian plants closing, it would be done in a way that would not affect the security of electricity supply – and said they are confident they will be able to maintain systems security of the plants, despite Viridian’s withdrawal from the market.

“We have met with Viridian and will be assessing their request for a derogation from the requirement to provide 36 months notice of closure of a generating unit,” a company spokesman told RTE.