Electricity consumption in Ireland has fallen 10-12% over the lockdown period. In Northern Ireland and Britain the drop has been even higher — up to 20%. According to Irish system operator EirGrid, the concentration of high-tech firms like
data centers has had a mitigating effect on demand in the region. To exacerbate the
grid-balancing challenge over the lockdown period, there have been record-breaking weather patterns ideal for solar and wind renewable energy generation. When renewables’ share of overall generation is very high, the grid is more volatile and becomes even more difficult to manage. One of the technologies that grid operators call on to help manage exceptional grid events is
Demand Response (DR), which relies on energy users modulating their demand at relatively short notice to help maintain grid system stability.