Temporary Emergency Generation Arrangements Retained to Support Electricity Security of Supply

The Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) has directed EirGrid to exercise the existing contractual options to retain Temporary Emergency Generation (TEG) arrangements to address forecast electricity capacity shortfalls and mitigate risks to electricity security of supply during the winters of 2027/28 and 2028/29.

The decision follows updated adequacy assessments by EirGrid which identified a continued capacity shortfall sufficient to merit retention for the full length of the contracted service periods. Based on this analysis, EirGrid recommended that all available contractual options to retain the units under the TEG arrangements be exercised to the maximum extent permissible.

The Minister for Climate, Energy and Environment has consented to the CRU directions to the exercise of the option to retain the TEG 1 and TEG 2 units for their full contractual periods. The Minister's consent followed consideration of recommendations and supporting evidence provided by EirGrid and the CRU regarding continuing risks to security of electricity supply.

Temporary Emergency Generation arrangements were first introduced following EirGrid's identification of likely electricity capacity shortfalls and associated risks to security of supply in 2021.

Since then, the TEG arrangements, together with the Retention of Existing Units (REU) arrangements at Moneypoint, have helped strengthen system resilience and reduce the risk of electricity supply disruptions during periods of system stress.

However, a number of factors have contributed to the persistence of capacity shortfalls sufficient to merit the retention of the units, including:

• Delays and cancellations affecting new generation capacity contracted through Capacity Market auctions
• Delay to the delivery of the Celtic Interconnector
• Reduced performance of certain generation units
• Planned outages associated with refurbishment and upgrade programmes and outages associated with Intermediate Length Contracts (ILCs).

According to EirGrid's latest adequacy assessments, these factors continue to create risks to security of supply during the winters of 2027/28 and 2028/29.

Temporary Emergency Generation Arrangements

The TEG units are only intended to operate when market-based resources are unavailable and provide an additional layer of protection for electricity security of supply. The potential need to exercise these options was highlighted in the All-Island Resource Adequacy Assessment 2026-2035 (All-Island Resource Adequacy Assessment 2026-2035).

The estimated additional cost of exercising all available TEG continuation options is approximately €229 million (€177 million for TEG 1 retention and approximately €52 million for TEG 2 retention).

The estimated residential tariff impact, relative to a scenario where the retentions are not exercised, is expected to range between €0.79 and €14.96 per annum across tariff years 2026/27 to 2029/30.

An information note was published on the CRU website and can be found here.

Commenting on the decision, CRU Director of Wholesale and Security of Supply, John Melvin, said:" Temporary Emergency Generation has played an important role in protecting Ireland's electricity security of supply since becoming operational. These arrangements were always intended as temporary measures and they remain temporary. EirGrid's latest assessments identified a need to retain these generators for the full length of the contracted service periods. The retention of these arrangements will provide a prudent and necessary safeguard while enduring generation capacity, the Celtic Interconnector and other market-based solutions continue to be delivered. Maintaining a secure and resilient electricity system remains a priority for the CRU."

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