Skip navigation 
Previous Page
16
ESB NETWORKS LTD
February/March 2012 www.esb.ie/em
Sustainability UPDATE
Wilton Sustainability Committee and the Community
THE SUSTAINABILITY Committee in Wilton, Cork, were busy in 2011 continuing the great work ESB staff carry out in local communities and charities. The committee and local staff in Wilton, have been very active in the wider community promoting and raising awareness on Sustainability issues including visits to local national schools, working with the Cork Environmental Forum, planting trees during National Tree Week, working on the refurbishment of Edel House in Cork City and much more.
Their latest excursion saw members of the committee along with family members attend an open day at Fota Island Wildlife Park with two ESB eCars, a Mitsubishi iMiev and a Nissan Leaf. The eCars generated a huge amount of interest among visitors on the day. The open day was organised by Cork County Council as part of the activities for European Waste Reduction Week.
The spirit of Sustainability is certainly alive and well in Cork.
2011 Year End Sustainability Update
2011 PROVED TO be another excellent year for Networks Sustainability with significant progress made on all aspects of our Sustainability drive.
- Networks CO2 emissions down 20% on the 2006 baseline.
- Wh electricity consumption in Networks buildings down 13% on 2010 representing an annual saving of approx €265,000.
- The Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) recycling rate increased to 66%, up 9% on 2010.
- Fuel consumption down 3.7% on 2010 representing a saving of €237,000.
- Use of MyMeeting@esb (Webex), the web conferencing and on line meeting facility, increased by 89% on 2010.
- 1,877 Networks staff (52%) completed the on line Sustainability training course.
An excellent performance all round.
Network crews in repair works on both sides of Irish Sea
Severe storms for a four-week period between December 12th and January 6th kept Network Technicians busy over the holiday period.
Continued from page 1
THERE WAS very severe weather on the nights of December 12th and January 2nd when Hurricane Friedhelm and Cyclone Ulli hit Ireland and the UK, but there was disruption caused to services by storms earlier in December and by gales that followed in the wake of both Friedhelm and Ulli.
In all, 80,000 ESB customers were impacted by severe weather over the six-week period, mostly in the north and along the western seaboard, but there was disruption in pockets of the midlands and as far south as Wexford.
Despite being named a cyclone, and not a hurricane, Ulli caused more damage in the Republic than Friedhelm. On January 2nd, winds reached 169kmph (105mph) at Mallin Head, the seventh strongest gust ever recorded there. That night some 15,000 ESB customers were without power, but Network Technicians (NTs) were quick to respond and by 9am on the 3rd, a third of those affected had their supply restored.
At the height of the storm, 11,000 customers in Killybegs Area and 28,000 in Letterkenny Area lost supply. The worst affected areas were the Fanad and Inishowen peninsulas, the most northerly parts of the county.
The Emergency Storm Recovery Plan was put into action in both areas and networks staff responded very well to early morning requests to report for work to fix the multitude of faults. Poling and timber cutting contractors were also mobilised. In spite of treacherous conditions throughout the day, great progress was made and less than 100 customers were without supply that night and these were due to extensive damage that was impossible to access or repair on Tuesday evening.
Both Friedhelm and Ulli hit Northern Ireland and Scotland much harder than the Republic, so much so that NIE, Scottish Power and Scottish and Southern Electricity (S&SE) requested assistance in restoring power to their customers.
Letter
I think it is high time that someone thanked ESB for their great service. I see the great work you do around the countryside and around the motorways. We had very strong storms in the last few weeks and others had worse. We didn't lose power while others did and you did a great job restoring it for them. You even went north and helped restore power there.
Many thanks to your great workforce.
Jenny Cook
