Latest news with #Éowyn.
BBC News
25-03-2025
- Business
- BBC News
NI Water: Forensic accountants appointed to investigate overspend
Forensic accountants have been instructed to investigate why NI Water has been unable to live within it's resourced budget allocation this decision by Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins comes after NI Water informed the department of an estimated overspend of about £ said the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) had frequent engagement with NI Water throughout the year and had "given as many opportunities as possible to try and ensure they are doing everything they can to live within their budget."NI Water said it "will be working with DfI in line with Minister's instructions". Speaking during a statement in the Northern Ireland Assembly, Kimmins said her department had allocated an opening resource budget of £137m to NI water which represented almost one quarter of the total resource allocation available to the addition to this, NI water also received £11.5m resources in year and £2.9m to deal with the aftermath of storm Éowyn."I think it's hugely disappointing to me that despite ongoing engagement with the chair on the need to live within budget, the board of NI Water has decided not to take action to do so," she said."I hope that everyone will recognise that my decision to appoint a forensic accountant is a necessary step, that takes a measured approach." Difficult decisions The minister said protecting public funds is of the utmost importance, particularly in light of the wider pressures faced across all areas of public services."Difficult decisions are having to be made across all Departments and Arm's Length Bodies and therefore it is essential that I fully understand the budgetary management decisions that the Board of NI Water has taken this year that have led to this disappointing outcome" she added.
BBC News
09-02-2025
- Climate
- BBC News
Living off-grid: The homes that run without mains electricity
The widespread power cuts caused by Storm Éowyn were a reminder of how dependent we have become on our electricity supply for everyday there are a hardy few who already live their lives "off-grid", getting by just fine without mains electricity or mains them is 83-year-old Margaret Gallagher, who still lives in the thatched cottage outside Belcoo in County Fermanagh, where she was born in 200-year-old home has no running water, no central heating, no fridge, nor any of the other mod cons most people would consider pensioner has survived many storms in Mullylusty Cottage, but admitted to being "absolutely petrified" by Éowyn."I was afraid the roof would come in," she told BBC News NI."But when it was over I was the only one that could cope because I had a fire, I had water, I had light."I had everything because I'm totally off the grid." Margaret was 10 years old when her mother died and after that she became a carer for her disabled father until his death in was scarce and their home was never since childhood, Margaret's daily routine has involved fetching buckets of drinking water from a nearby fireplace in her sitting room is her only source of heating, but she also uses that hearth to cook food in cast iron the evenings, she uses candles and paraffin lamps for light and keeps herself entertained with her battery-powered radio and her library of books. 'I'm as warm as toast' In the aftermath of Storm Éowyn, Margaret supplied her neighbours with fresh drinking also provided a warm welcome to visitors who had no heat at home."It's great to have a fire and the kettle boiling when they come," she said."But I prepared well for it – I got in candles and I got in paraffin oil and I got in the all the groceries and I use long-life milk."And I had logs and turf and firelighters."Many householders found it difficult to sleep without power on these cold winter nights, but not Margaret. "I have two hot water bottles, I have one at my feet and one at my head," she also piles on the layers, sleeping under four duvets."I'm as warm as toast and I keep on the fire all night." Having never had the basic household services most of us take for granted, Margaret does not miss them."Quality of life is more important than standards of living," she said."The house bears the footprints of my forefathers – the house to me is on hallowed ground."Keeping Mullylusty Cottage in its original state has meant it is now considered a heritage site of "international interest". A proud custodian of this listed historic building, Margaret said: "The house now is my sanctuary and I just love it." 'We could go without the mains completely' But is there an easier way to be self-sufficient?Michael Wilkinson lives with his wife and children in a house overlooking the Suir Valley in County they moved in six years ago, they faced rapidly rising energy bills and frequent power cuts which Michael said were "very frustrating".In response, the 41-year-old mechanic spent the past two years building his own energy system to wean his home off its reliance on Ireland's national grid. "We just kept adding and adding to it until we had enough that we could go without the mains completely," Michael explained. His design includes 36 solar panels spread across his roof and around his garden."We incorporated a wind turbine into the system and, again, I built the mast and everything for that myself," he said. "The whole thing operates basically with solar as the priority, wind as a backup then, when there's no sun and no wind, there's the petrol generator". 'My bills have fallen by up to 80%' He bought the generator solely for emergencies because the fuel is more expensive than using mains that reason he uses a "change-over switch" which can either isolate or reconnect his home to the grid whenever system not only protects their home from power outages - his electricity bills have plummeted. "You're always going to have your connection charge anyway so you'll never get a bill of zero, but it's taken our bills down roughly about 75 to 80 per cent," he said. "Most of the time we run completely off-grid. "It's only as I say when you have those prolonged periods of no sun and no wind where we use a change-over switch". Their home is not connected to a mains water supply so they use self-generated power to pump water in from a also use an open fireplace with a back boiler which heats their radiators and provides hot water for tech-savvy couple also document their DIY efforts on YouTube."There's very little difference between a modern off-grid life and what I suppose you'd call a normal on-grid life. "You're just simply generating the power yourself," Michael said. But all this equipment comes at a cost and Michael estimates they have spent about €6,000 (£5,030) over two years installing the system, excluding wiring. "We didn't get out loans or do it through any line of credit, we basically just saved up a little bit every month, adding a bit more to the system as we go along."The Wilkinsons also keep costs down by growing their own vegetables and keeping chickens for eggs and meat. But there are still some goods Mother Nature refuses to provide in an Irish climate. "It's very difficult to grow your own bananas. You'll always need to go to the supermarket for something," Michael says. "There is a lot you can do but I don't think it's possible to be 100% self-sufficient without making some very hard sacrifices."
BBC News
29-01-2025
- Climate
- BBC News
Storm Éowyn: Mother has "absolutely awful" six days without power
A County Antrim mother-of-five, who remains without power for a sixth day following Storm Éowyn, has said it has been "absolutely awful". Nicola Graham, from Ballymena, and her children aged between eight months and 12-years-old have been "surviving with headlamps and candles" since a tree fell on their power supply line on Friday. Homes have been damaged and about 25,000 properties in Northern Ireland remain without power for a sixth day after high winds battered the UK and Ireland last engineers have arrived from across the UK to help restore power, but Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE) has warned it could be Monday, 3 February, before all properties are reconnected. Nicola Graham told BBC's Good Morning Ulster she has had an "absolutely awful" six days without power since Storm Éowyn on Friday. She said she has to boil a saucepan of water over her wood burning stove to feed her eight-month-old her bottle. The rest of the family are relying on take-away meals that cost £40 a night and "using the washing machine at shops", she said. "We are surviving with head lamps and candles", she added, having to recharge lamps and phones at school, work and in the car. "From 17:30 to bedtime, it's awful. We are all sitting in one room trying to keep heat and trying to entertain children."You can't draw in the dark and play with your toys in the dark."Nicola said that because she is on the "priority list" due to her child having additional needs, NIE send her an hourly message saying the repair team is "on their way" and power will be restored by Saturday, 1 February. "I am supposed to have a check in phone call from NIE everyday and I didn't have one yesterday to see how we were coping," she added. "They offered me a community centre in Roe Valley near Limavady, that's it."It's going to be really tough. Our saving grace is that we're out at work."She said she would like "a bit of hope that they are doing something and we are not left in limbo". "The best outcome is that I would see an NIE van beyond my lane and having my wires up to connect the power supply back to my home," she added. 'Goodwill payment' On Tuesday, Communities Minister Gordon Lyons pledged £1m to support communities and individuals affected by Storm Éowyn."Storm Eowyn has caused devastation, and my primary concern is the safety and well-being of all those affected, particularly children, the elderly and people with vulnerabilities," Mr Lyons said Stormont departments would do everything possible to help support those who have found themselves homeless and for those needing in the week, the first minister and deputy first ministers called on NIE to "step up" and provide "goodwill payment" support to those still without about compensation payments for people left without power for a prolonged period, Ronan McKeown from NIE said conversations would continue on Tuesday between NIE and Stormont ministers, the Economy Department and Utility Graham told Good Morning Ulster that she thinks NIE should be looking at goodwill payments now. "Every bit of food in the fridge is ruined," she said, "and when the electric comes back on we will have to replace it." In the Republic of Ireland, more than 142,000 properties remain without supply, according to ESB Networks - down from a peak of about 768,000 on Friday morning. 100 properties without water The storm has also affected water supplies in some parts of Northern Water say that 100 properties are still without water. He said his organisation had hoped to get generators to a further 17 properties on Tuesday and that 360 vulnerable customers had water delivered to aftermath of the storm has also affected schools, with some schools in Northern Ireland remaining closed on Wednesday. Emergency contacts NIE has said there are 11 Community Assistance Centres and more than 60 drop-in centres open until 19:00 GMT to help those without offered range from showers, food, hot drinks, and work-from-home hubs. NIE Networks reps are available for report faults or emergencies you should contact:Northern Ireland Housing Executive: 03448 920 901Openreach Damages to Network: 08000 23 20 23 (Individual faults must be logged with Communications Providers)Gas networks: 0800 002001NI Water: 03457 44 00 88 or visit externalFlooding Incident Line: 0300 2000 100NIE Networks: 03457 643 643 or visit
