ESB Networks has advised households and businesses that it is working to resolve an issue which resulted in some smart meter readings being processed incorrectly last week.
The company apologised for the “confusion and concern” the matter may have caused and said it is reviewing its procedures to ensure the problem does not occur again, reports RTE.
The development follows reports from a number of electricity customers who noticed significant price increases appearing on their meters in recent days, with some showing charges as high as €5,000 for a single day.
Many customers turned to social media to highlight the “impossible” and “wild” costs recorded on their smart meters on 6 and 7 March, reports RTE.
One Bord Gáis customer explained how on 5 March his meter showed 4.18 kW of usage for the day at a cost of €1.83. However, the following day the cost jumped to €738.
Another individual said their meter indicated they had consumed 7000kW in one day at a cost of €2,500, reports RTE.
Customers also said they had been told by their suppliers that it is a “known issue” that is due to be resolved this week and that they do not need to take any action.
ESB Networks later said that a planned software upgrade to one of its internal systems last Friday caused some customers’ meter readings to be processed incorrectly, which led to unusually high and inaccurate usage appearing on ESB Networks online accounts and those of suppliers, reports RTE.
In a statement, the company said the problem is related to internal software and is not connected to the reliability of smart meters or the actual energy usage recorded.
“We are in the process of identifying and resolving the issue in our systems and will systematically correct all affected data,” reports RTE.
It added that customers do not need to take any action at this stage and that metering data will automatically be corrected to reflect real usage.
Bord Gáis Energy said that after incorrect meter data was issued, it took steps to suspend billing for the affected meters to limit the impact on customers, reports RTE.
In a statement, it said: “We are awaiting updated data from ESBN [ESB Networks]. We will resume customer billing once correct data is received,” reports RTE.
SEE Airtricity said it is aware of the situation and added “our team is working on it. While we fix it, you don’t need to do anything. Thanks for your patience. We apologise for any inconvenience”.
It is estimated that approximately two million smart meters have been installed across Ireland, reports RTE.
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