Shutting down a power plant for six months for repairs cost State energy company ESB almost €11 million last year, new figures show.
The group, which sells electricity and gas through Electric Ireland, operates the Coolkeeragh gas-fired power plant in Northern Ireland, among other subsidiaries.
Coolkeeragh ESB Ltd lost £9.16 million (€10.8 million) before tax last year after it was forced to close the power plant from June to December, according to recently filed accounts.
Last year’s loss compares with a £26 million profit earned by the business in 2024, the filings with the UK companies registrar show.
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The shutdown, which affected operations at Coolkeeragh power station from the end of June to December 2025, was in relation to turbine maintenance and repair works, said the ESB on Tuesday.
The company fully resolved the problem with no impact on the power plant this year, it added.
The ESB gave no indication of the plant’s financial performance so far this year.
A surge in natural gas prices since the US-Iran war shut the Strait of Hormuz in February has put electricity companies under pressure.
About half the electricity used in Ireland is generated by burning natural gas.
Most companies hedge their risk. That usually means they buy supplies well in advance to cut risks posed by volatile price movements, but they have been unable to avoid increased costs as the conflict has dragged on.
Coolkeeragh ESB Ltd’s accounts show revenues slumped to £196 million last year from £317 million in 2024 as a result of the shutdown.
Its balance sheet also suffered as a consequence.
Net assets slipped to £23.7 million on December 31st from £31.6 million 12 months earlier as cash due from customers tumbled to £35 million from £111 million.
Coolkeeragh primarily sells electricity to other subsidiaries within the ESB Group, the accounts note.
Falls in liabilities eased the impact of the slide in sums due from debtors.
Built on the site of an older oil-fired power plant close to Derry, Coolkeeragh can generate up to 455 megawatts of electricity and supply up to one third of total demand in the North, according to the ESB.
The newer gas turbine plant began operating in 2005.
The ESB is one of the biggest players in the Irish market. The group earned profits of €377 million after tax in the first half of this year, according to accounts published last month.
Along with most other suppliers, it increased household electricity charges by 8 per cent in July to counter rising natural gas bills.
The Republic’s and Northern Ireland’s electricity markets were joined to create a single entity in 2007.
However, the failure to build the proposed North-South interconnector, a 138km high-capacity electricity line between counties Meath and Tyrone, has left the market with bottlenecks that prevent power from flowing freely between both sides of the country.
