NO JOBS will be lost at the ESB or Bord na Móna as a result of the temporary closure of power plants in the midlands.
The ESB is to close its Lough Ree power generating station near Lanesboro, Co Longford, on Monday next. The generating station will reopen in September but the loss of peat sales for Bord na Móna has been estimated to be in the region of €9 million.
The ESB said major maintenance work had been brought forward to coincide with work on a boiler at Lanesboro and it was not possible to keep the plant operating while the work was carried out.
A similar closure of the ESB Shannonbridge plant in west Offaly is also being planned, but may not take place until next year.
A spokesman for Bord na Móna said the Lanesboro closure would affect 70 workers but all would be retained and some would be redeployed for the duration of the closure. The spokesman said projected losses in peat sales had been anticipated for some time and had been factored into the Bord na Móna accounts.
An ESB spokeswoman said 41 of its staff at the plant would also be retained.
Bord na Móna uses private rail lines to supply both power plants with peat from its bogs in the midlands.
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