State company Gas Networks Ireland (GNI) plans to invest €50 million in boosting part of its system to guarantee supplies in extreme weather and avoid the risk of bottlenecks.
GNI owns and operates the 14,758km network of pipes that supply natural gas to homes, industries and power plants around the country.
The company is spending €50 million on an upgrade of its southern area network to ensure sufficient supplies in cases of extreme weather and avoid the risk of capacity constraints, GNI said on Tuesday.
Trends point to the risk of squeezes on supplies in the Cork area over the next decade as peak daily demand for natural gas continues to grow, according to the State utility.
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The business is increasing the capacity of one of the key transmission pipes that feed this part of the country to allow it move more gas through the system.
This will also prevent supply limits on other parts of the national network while ensuring that gas supplies meet demand during periods when temperatures are exceptionally low and there is not enough wind to produce renewable electricity.
GNI started work on the project earlier this month and the new capacity will come on stream next winter, the company said.
It aims to boost the key pipe’s capacity by 20 per cent. This will allow the network to connect new flexible gas-fired electricity plants, needed to back up supplies from wind farms, along with extra commercial customers.
GNI chief executive David Kelly dubbed the project a “critical investment” in the company’s network.
“Without this investment we run the risk of future capacity constraints in the southern area of our network, making this a priority national project,” he said.
Director of assets and infrastructure Brian Sheehan added that the investment was needed to prevent energy supply shortages in the south in cases of extreme weather.
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The Minister of State at the Department of Rural and Community Development, Jerry Buttimer, noted that many businesses relied on natural gas which “is the backbone to Ireland’s integrated energy system”.
The news comes as GNI also plans to invest €200 million up to 2030 on “decarbonising” key parts of its facility in Scotland, the starting point of the interconnector that supplies much of Ireland’s natural gas.
That move will cut 42 per cent of the carbon dioxide emissions that GNI’s operations produce, the company said.
About 725,000 homes and businesses use natural gas.
