Around 10,000 households are still without power this morning, after lightning storms caused blackouts in the south of the country.

Mike Fitzgerald, a spokesperson for ESB Networks says they managed to reconnect around 10,000 customers overnight, but poor weather hampered repairs in some areas.

Work is to get underway shortly to restore power to the remaining households along coastal areas which were knocked off the grid in the lightning storms

They're expected to be back online by lunchtime. Customers can get regular updates on www.powercheck.ie.

The areas worst affected were Cork, Waterford and Kerry.