THOUSANDS of Clare homes have been left without electricity due to Hurricane Ophelia and it may be several days before some people have it restored.
According to the ESB Networks in the region of 4,000 customers in Cranny, Miltown, Drumquin, Ennistymon, Kilrush, Ennis, Shannon, Cratloe, Tulla, and Scariff as well as their surrounds have been left without power.
In a statement ESB Networks warned that many people will not have their electricity restored for some time. “As of 4:30 pm, approximately 360,000 electricity customers are without power as a result of over 3,200 individual faults on the network across the country. Fallen trees on overhead lines are responsible for most of the damage to the network.
“The majority of customers who have lost supply at present will be without power tonight and over a number of days. Based on previous experience of Storm Darwin in 2014, where about 280,000 customers were left without supply, we can predict that it will take a number of days to restore power to all customers.
“We are advising all customers impacted by outages that they should prepare to be without electricity for number of days. It is very important that any customers who use electrically powered medical devices should contact their healthcare professional to make alternative arrangements if necessary.”
Owen Ryan
Owen Ryan has been a journalist with the Clare Champion since 2007, having previously worked with a number of other publications in Limerick, Cork and Galway. His first book will be published in December 2024.