Today, ACER releases its Opinion on the All-Island Resource Adequacy Assessments for Ireland, Northern Ireland and the Single Electricity Market (SEM) as a whole. The assessment was jointly prepared by the transmission system operators (TSOs) of both jurisdictions (EirGrid and SONI), complementing the European Resource Adequacy Assessment (ERAA) 2025.
What is a resource adequacy assessment?
The ERAA assesses whether electricity supply is sufficient to meet demand across the EU and provides a common framework for identifying potential security of supply risks. Member States can complement this analysis through national adequacy assessments (NRAAs) to reflect local conditions, on which ACER then issues an opinion.
What did ACER find?
ACER finds that most differences between the All-Island Resource Adequacy Assessment and the ERAA are justified, as they reflect national trends and include additional modelling detail, enhancing accuracy.
ACER also highlights two factors with a major impact on adequacy:
- The planned second North-South Interconnector is included only in the SEM-wide assessment, even though, once operational, it would strengthen security of supply across the island. ACER therefore recommends including it in all three analyses.
- The rapid growth of data centres in Ireland (which accounted for 22% of national electricity demand in 2024 and could reach 31% by 2034) poses a key adequacy risk. ACER recommends that future assessments better reflect both the demand impact of data centres and the extent to which policy measures can mitigate adequacy risks.
