Picture it: Christmas morning, the kids tear into their presents, little Johnny rips open the new PS5 he’s been dreaming about all year… and nothing happens. No telly, no lights on the tree, no oven for the turkey. The power is out.
It sounds like a nightmare, but for hundreds of thousands of Irish families it is not far-fetched. Winter storms knock out power across Ireland almost every year, and the worst of them can leave homes in the dark for days.
How bad can a winter power cut get?
Just ask anyone who lived through Storm Éowyn. When it hit in January 2025, it left a record 768,000 homes, farms and businesses without electricity, ESB Networks said, calling the damage to the network “unprecedented”.
Some families waited more than a fortnight. About 700 homes, farms and businesses were still without power more than two weeks after the storm, The Irish Times reported. ESB Networks had to replace about 3,000 electricity poles and lay 900km of new cable, according to RTÉ.
Will there be a blackout this Christmas?
Nobody can predict that. There is no warning of a Christmas power cut, and most years the festive season passes without a major outage. But Irish winters are wild, storms can arrive with only days’ notice, and a single fallen tree on a line can cut off a whole townland.
The question is simple: if it happens, would your house be ready?
READ MORE
- Ireland’s blackout nightmare: families warned to prepare as serious questions emerge over energy security
- Storm names 2026/27: the full Met Éireann list
The catch with ordinary solar panels
Here is something many people don’t know: most standard rooftop solar systems switch off during a power cut. For safety, grid-connected systems shut down when the grid goes down, so the panels on your roof won’t keep your lights on unless the system has been set up with backup power.
And plenty of people can’t put panels on a roof at all: renters, apartment owners, and people living in caravans or mobile homes.
Solar power in a box: the all-in-one option
That is where all-in-one portable solar systems come in. They pair a battery power station with fold-out solar panels. You charge the battery from a normal socket or from the sun, and when the power goes out, you plug in what matters most: lights, the Wi-Fi router, phones, a fridge, or yes, a PS5.
Because nothing is fixed to the roof or wired into the house, they suit:
- Renters – no landlord permission needed, and it moves with you
- Apartments – panels can sit on a balcony or windowsill
- Caravans and mobile homes – power anywhere, on or off the grid
- Any home that wants a backup for storm season
Irish Wind & Solar teams up with Bluetti
Waterford-based installer Irish Wind & Solar has now partnered with portable power brand Bluetti to supply all-in-one solar systems to Irish homes, renters and caravan owners, so families can keep essentials running if the grid goes down this winter. Details are on the Irish Wind & Solar portable power page.
Disclosure: Connemara Journal is connected to Irish Wind & Solar.
How to get ready for a winter power cut
- Keep torches and spare batteries somewhere you can find them in the dark
- Charge phones and power banks when a storm warning is issued
- Sign up to ESB Networks’ outage alerts and check PowerCheck.ie during an outage
- Report fallen lines to ESB Networks on 1800 372 999, and never go near them
- Have a backup power source for the essentials, especially if anyone at home relies on medical equipment
With a little planning, Santa can still come down the chimney, the tree can stay lit, and little Johnny can play his PS5, power cut or not.
Sources
- ESB Networks: Storm Éowyn restoration update (30 January 2025)
- The Irish Times: Almost 700 without power more than a fortnight after Storm Éowyn
- RTÉ: 142,000 customers still without power following Storm Éowyn
Featured image: Santa Claus Entering Chimney, vintage illustration, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
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