The Tanaiste has said that the Government cannot rule out the chances of a prolonged blackout this winter for Irish homes and businesses.
Leo Varadkar's comments come hours after EirGrid, the state-owned electricity grid operator, warned that Ireland faces a "tight" winter ahead and that the "stark" situation may get worse over the next decade.
Speaking in the Dail, Mr Varadkar did try to reassure the Irish public that they won't be left in the dark for too long. In response to a question from Independent TD Verona Murphy, he noted: "One thing I do want to say is that it was important to note that there is no risk of a system-wide blackout.
"There may be periods where total supply does not meet demand. While no one can rule out the possibility of blackouts over the winter, I want to say to families, homeowners, businesses or farms - the chances of a blackout or prolonged blackout affecting them is very low.
" I think a lot of people are engaging in worrying people about this. We can't rule it out, but the risk of having that kind of blackout is low.
"If we do enter the red alert scenario, the large energy users will come off first, like the data centres and they have their own generator capacity. It takes quite a lot of events to come together for there to be a power cut to homes and businesses."
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