ESB Networks reported that 186,000 customers were without power this Wednesday lunchtime, this was the peak outage number. By 5pm it had been reduced to 126,000 outages.

Crews are continuing to assess the damage and working to repair over 1,400 faults on the network. "Fallen trees on overhead lines are responsible for most of the damage to the network," the utility said after Storm Ali crossed the country in the morning, bringing wind gusts of 150km/h.

According to ESB Networks, the worst hit areas include Cavan, Sligo, Donegal, Castlebar, Galway, Portlaoise, Dundalk, Mullingar and parts of north Co Dublin.

Members of the public are advised not to approach fallen electricity wires and contact ESB Networks on 1850-372 999 or use PowerCheck online and on the dedicated smartphone app to report and monitor faults.

Power loss was a major issue on dairy farms after Storm Ophelia last year, with many unable to milk and scrambling for generators.