Aran Islands cable
Island LinkOperationalIE3 MW20 kV1999
Also known as:Aran Islands cable, Aran Islands subsea cable, Árainn subsea cable, Árainn–mainland cable, Inis Mór–mainland cable, Inis Meáin–mainland cable, Inis Oírr–mainland cable
Status:Operational
Capacity:3 MW
Project Company:ESB Networks
Type:island link
Website:www.aranislandsenergycoop.ie
The Aran Islands subsea cable is a distribution‑scale submarine electricity link that connects the Irish mainland (Rossaveal/Galway area) to the three Aran Islands (Árainn / Inis Mór, Inis Meáin, Inis Oírr). The cable provides the primary bulk electrical supply to the islands and is a critical element of local security...
Supply Chain (0)
Project Timeline (11)
1 Jun 2022Cable Repair
On the morning of Wednesday 1 June 2022 ESB Networks crews arrived on Inis Oírr at about 10:30 and located and repaired the underground distribution cable that had been damaged by a contractor the previous day, completing the repair work within six hours.
1 Jun 2022System Restoration
At approximately 4:30 pm on Wednesday 1 June 2022, after ESB Networks repaired the damaged underground cable on Inis Oírr, electricity supply was restored to the island following a 26‑hour outage, with ESB issuing an apology to affected customers.
31 May 2022Major Outage
Around 2 pm on Tuesday 31 May 2022 a contractor working on behalf of Galway County Council struck an underground ESB cable on Inis Oírr, cutting power to all three Aran Islands; while supply to Inis Mór and Inis Meáin was restored within an hour, Inis Oírr remained without electricity for about 26 hours, causing significant losses for local households and businesses reliant on freezers.
22 Oct 2016Cable Repair
Between early October and 22 October 2016, ESB Networks and ESB International carried out a subsea repair on the 10.5 km Aran Islands cable at a 20 m depth off Inis Mór, using in‑house electrical surge techniques to pinpoint the fault and a pressurised habitat system with 97 diving operations to cut out and replace the damaged section, before energising the repaired cable from Inis Mór on 22 October.
22 Oct 2016System Restoration
On 22 October 2016, following completion of subsea repair works off Inis Mór, ESB Networks energised the Aran Islands subsea cable from Inis Mór, restoring normal mains electricity supply from the mainland to Inis Meáin and Inis Oírr and allowing the islands to move off temporary diesel generation back onto the grid connection.
8 Aug 2016System Restoration
After the August 2016 subsea cable fault, ESB Networks restored electricity to Inis Meáin and Inis Oírr on the evening of Monday following the outage by transporting a specialised transformer from England and connecting two diesel generators to the island electricity system, bringing power back to 372 customers after several days without supply.
5 Aug 2016Major Outage
On Friday 5 August 2016 all three Aran Islands lost electricity supply when a subsea power cable fault occurred about 2 km off Inis Mór on the 10.5 km link from the mainland, leaving Inis Meáin and Inis Oírr without mains power for about four days and affecting nearly 400 residents and 372 registered customers during the busy tourist season.
~Jan 1999Commercial Operations Full Power
By the late 1990s, a 3 MW subsea cable from the Irish mainland to Árainn (Inis Mór), with branches to Inis Meáin and Inis Oírr, was installed and began supplying the Aran Islands’ full electricity demand, replacing the previous reliance on local diesel generators.
1 Jan 1996Cable Installation Complete
ESB completed the subsea cable installation linking Cape Clear and the Aran Islands in Galway Bay to the Irish national grid in 1996, as part of a combined project to replace local diesel generation with grid supply via submarine cables.
Date TBDOnshore Construction Start
ESB initiated onshore works for the Aran Islands cable project, undertaking the on-shore links and major upgrading of the onshore and island electricity networks as part of the scheme to connect Cape Clear and the Aran Islands to the Irish national grid. These civil and network works were carried out by ESB staff from the Southern Region (Dunmanway Branch) and Mid Western Region (Galway, Clifden and Castlebar staff), complementing the contracted subsea cable laying activities.