More than 2,000 families were left without electricity in East Meath after another major power outage over the weekend.
The latest unplanned outage happened in the Julianstown area on Saturday morning, September 19, and lasted for several hours.
It is the latest in a series of power cuts affecting homes and businesses across East Meath in recent months, with the Mornington, Bettystown, Laytown, Julianstown and Stamullen areas all affected.
It is understood to be the eighth power outage in the East Meath area so far this year.
Locals have expressed growing frustration over the repeated incidents, particularly because they say they have received no warning before the power cuts.
East Meath TD and Minister for Europe Thomas Byrne has said he will raise the issue with ESB Networks again.
He said: “I was in touch last week with ESB Networks about the repeated power cuts in East Meath. Again today, young families, businesses and thousands of homes are without power.”
The Minister said he had previously been assured that work due to be completed by the end of September would effectively solve the ongoing problems.
“Last week I was assured that work to be completed by the end of September would essentially solve the problems. I intend to meet ESB Networks at the highest level as soon as possible to ensure this commitment is stuck to,” he said.
Thomas Byrne also said he did not believe Saturday's outage was planned, as he has three siblings living in the area and none of them received advance notice.
ESB Networks has blamed a number of separate faults for the recent outages.
The utility said the incidents have involved both overhead power lines and underground cables, including cable and transformer faults, deterioration of pole-top equipment and a low-ground conductor incident.
In the latter case, a circuit is automatically disconnected for safety reasons.
An ESB Networks spokesperson apologised to customers and thanked them for their patience.
They said: “The network serving the area comprises overhead and underground infrastructure and the recent outages have occurred across different parts of the network reflecting a variety of unrelated causes rather than a single recurring issue.”
Work is currently underway to upgrade the network in Julianstown.
ESB Networks says the work will increase capacity and create a more robust network serving homes, businesses and communities across the area.
The company expects the improvements to be completed by the end of September.
It says customers in Bettystown, Laytown and Mornington should also see improvements once the work is finished.
However, residents continue to raise concerns about the frequency of the outages and the lack of advance warning.
