A Monaghan manufacturing business has started to put contingency plans in place in order to protect itself against energy outages this winter.
Martin McVicar who is the co-founder of one of Ireland's leading manufacturers Combi-lift says the companies energy costs have more than doubled in the last 18 months.
Speaking on the Joe Finnegan Show, the local businessman described the current energy crisis as "volatile uncertainty" for all businesses across the country.
As a result, Combi-lift has invested in a number of generators that will prevent a stoppage in production due to power outages.
While the expense of running these generators on fossil fuels is also costly, Mr McVicar believes the impact of this is not as severe, compared to the impact an energy shortage would have on company employees carrying out their everyday tasks: