Joint gas and electricity emergency training exercises will be held on the 9th and 16th of September, the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications has announced.

Officials said the purpose of the exercises is to test a coordinated response from numerous stakeholders to a disruption to Ireland’s gas and/or electricity supplies.

During these exercises, various hypothetical scenarios are considered and responses are stress-tested.

The emergency exercises will involve Gas Networks Ireland, EirGrid, ESB Networks, and the Commission for Regulation of Utilities.

Gas Networks Ireland is the lead body on gas-related exercises while EirGrid is the lead body on electricity-related exercises.

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According to a DECC statement: “While a significant disruption to energy supplies is unlikely, any such event has the potential to have an impact across multiple sectors.

“The established Strategic Emergency Management framework structures for dealing with a major emergency would ensure a ‘whole of government’ response, if such circumstances arose.

"In such circumstances, the Department for the Environment, Climate and Communications would become the lead government department and would convene and chair the National Emergency Coordination Group (NECG) in the National Energy Coordination Centre (NECC) to coordinate the government’s response to the energy emergency.”

The Commission for Regulation of Utilities, which has statutory responsibility to ensure security of electricity supply, expects that energy and power supply will remain tight during this coming winter period.