SONI (System Operator for Northern Ireland) engineers are bracing themselves for a disruptive Christmas Day as they prepare for a radical shift in power usage across Northern Ireland.

Teams of engineers, working in shifts throughout the day, will run Northern Ireland’s Electricity Grid Control Centre on Christmas Day. The centre manages the NI electricity system, matching electricity generation to customer demand on a minute-by-minute and hour-by-hour basis.

However, electricity usage on Christmas Day is radically different to any other day of the year, presenting challenges for the control centre engineers.

SONI Managing Director, Jo Aston explains: “Electricity consumption is normally very predictable, which is of enormous benefit to us as we can predict accurately when demand will peak and fall.

"I’d like to pay tribute to our staff, who are providing a vital service to everyone in Northern Ireland"

“In December we know that demand will typically peak just after 6.00pm and we make sure there is adequate electricity available. Christmas Day will be different, with the demand peak much earlier, so we will be on our toes to make sure there are no issues.”

On 25th December 2018, demand peaked at 1.30pm as people throughout Northern Ireland cooked their turkeys.

SONI’s engineers will work three eight-hour shifts on Christmas Day.

“I’d like to pay tribute to our staff, who are providing a vital service to everyone in Northern Ireland and we hope they will all be able to enjoy part of the Christmas festivities with their families,” added Ms Aston.