ESB National Grid, which manages the electricity transmission system, has said it is impossible to rule out a power failure here similar to the one which brought London's transport system to a halt this week.
A rush-hour power cut on Thursday affected up to 250,000 people as tube and train services ground to a halt, while some traffic lights also failed.
The managing director of the ESB National Grid, Mr Kieran O'Brien, said yesterday that while a similar blackout could affect Ireland, there were a wide range of back-up systems to help ensure a reliable power system was maintained.
He also said the National Grid would act on any relevant information which emerged from an inquiry into London's power blackout.
"Of course the same thing could happen here. We're running a very dynamic system but we have a pretty good record for managing the grid going back as far as 1927.
"There has been significant investment in the transmission system since the late 1990s. If we hadn't had that, I'd be very unhappy. At the moment I'm reasonably confident we can maintain a reliable system."
Officials believe that the last major blackout due to instability in electricity transmission was more than 30 years ago, when parts of south Dublin were without power after problems in the system in Ringsend.
Demand for electricity in Ireland has soared by more than 35 per cent since the late 1990s. The ESB is to ship in two extra power generators this winter to help prevent any potential blackouts.
The Commission for Electricity Regulation (CER) has said that extra capacity must be put in place to meet demand over the next three years.
In response to the increases, the ESB is planning to buy two major mobile generators to prevent potential power blackouts this winter.
With all stations working efficiently, the Republic is capable of producing over 5,000 megawatts of power at any one time and peak demand in winter is about 4,300 megawatts.
Despite this, ESB officials say it is normal to have extra capacity available because maintenance and repair often means some stations are not fully operational.
The ESB is purchasing the units, rather than leasing them as it has done in recent years, as they will be used over the next three years, an ESB spokesman said.
A major new power plant is also due to be completed by 2005 and several leading consortiums have expressed interest in developing the facility. The deadline for tenders expires on September 5th.
The national grid is also benefiting from a five-year €4 billion investment package, which is due to completed by the 2007. As part of plans to prepare the electricity market for full competition by 2005, the grid is due to become fully independent in the coming months and will change its name to Eirgrid.
At present almost half of the electricity market is open to competition, with international firms such as Energia and Duke electricity competing for contracts.
It is expected that ESB, which once controlled the entire electricity market, will control around 60 per cent once the market is fully liberalised.
