Ireland not relying on Russia for energy, says Gas Networks Ireland

Gas Networks Ireland has played down fears of any “immediate disruption” to Europe’s gas supply by Russia, and pointed out that Ireland does not rely on the Kremlin for the energy source.

There is worry in Dublin and across EU capitals that Russian president Vladimir Putin could halt the supply of gas to the Continent in the coming months — with particular concerns over winter — in response to sanctions over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe said on Thursday that such a possibility was “chief” among the risks to the Irish economy, adding it could lead to “major economic disruption in export markets with severe second-round effects for Ireland”.

In a statement on Friday, Gas Networks Ireland head of regulatory affairs Brian Mullins said he does not envisage any disruption to gas supplies “in the immediate future”.

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“As we move further into the summer, we do not envisage any disruption to gas supply in the immediate future and we continue to monitor the evolving situation in terms of Russian gas supplies to Europe,” he said.

“Ireland’s gas requirements continue to be met by indigenous supply from the Corrib gasfield and via the interconnection with the UK, which is largely sourced from UK indigenous sources and Norway.”

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Gas Networks Ireland, which owns and operates the natural gas network, said gas was the primary source of electricity generation in Ireland for five of the first six months of 2022. While total gas demand for the first half of 2022 was down 1 per cent year-on-year, the first six months of the year saw an 8 per cent increase on the last six months of 2021.

In comparison to the same period last year when public health restrictions were in place, there were some significant increases in demand for gas across the retail (up 94 per cent), laundry (up 65 per cent), hotel (up 39 per cent) and leisure/sport arenas (up 33 per cent) sectors.

However, gas demand fell over the same period in the construction (down 30 per cent), education1 (down 13 per cent), and residential (down 12 per cent) sectors.

Gas generated 45 per cent of Ireland’s electricity in the first six months of this year, as it did for the same period in 2021, while wind energy and coal both increased by two percentage points generating 36 per cent and 10 per cent respectively.

At times during the period January-June 2022, gas powered almost 90 per cent of the State’s electricity, peaking at 89 per cent and never dropping below 8 per cent, while coal peaked at 28 per cent with a low of 2 per cent.

Wind peaked at 77 per cent but, given the variable nature of weather dependent renewable energy sources, there were also times in the first half of the year when the wind supply dropped completely and didn’t contribute to electricity generation.

Monthly figures, which were also published on Friday, show gas demand in June increased by 11 per cent year-on-year, with significant increases in retail (up 95 per cent), air travel (up 57 per cent), leisure/sport arenas (up 47 per cent) and manufacturing (up 31 per cent).

Compared to May, overall gas demand dropped by 3 per cent following significant decreases in a number of sectors. These included air travel (down 80 per cent), retail (down 69 per cent), leisure/sport arenas (down 58 per cent), office complexes (down 54 per cent), education (down 52 per cent), hotel (down 49 per cent) and residential (down 36 per cent).

Warmer weather over the month played a role as gas requirement for space heating purposes reduced considerably.