Frequently Asked Questions

As part of the Climate Action Plan, ESB Networks is replacing existing electricity meters in homes, farms, and businesses across Ireland with next generation smart enabled meters. This new technology which is already in use in over 700 million premises worldwide will bring benefits to customers, the environment, and the economy.

The programme is a nationwide upgrade to the existing electricity infrastructure which is being delivered in partnership with the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, and all the electricity suppliers.

To date, over 1.5 million smart meters have been installed across Ireland, and we continue the national rollout. Once exchanged and following the meter’s connection to our secure communications network, customers will have access to the benefits which smart meters deliver. 

There is no change to your existing price plan following installation of a smart meter. From that point your electricity usage is automatically read from the new meter, reducing the need for estimated bills. Smart meters provide you with greater information on your electricity usage. To take full advantage of the benefits, we encourage you to register to ESB Networks online account here where you can view details of your consumption and where applicable your export information.

The upgrade facilitates an increase in the range of smart products and services now being offered by available electricity suppliers. These products can allow you to move some of your consumption to times of day when electricity is cheaper.

Smart meters also enable the development of smart grids, local renewable generation and microgeneration as well as supporting further electrification of heat and transport.

More information on the benefits can be found  here. 

Deployment of smart meters began in autumn 2019 and to date 1.4 million meters have been installed across the country.  Smart meters are being installed on a regional basis and we will give you plenty of notice when we are coming to your area.

All new general domestic 24-hour connections, fault repairs and meter replacements for homes and businesses will receive a smart meter.

No, there is no change to your tariff following the installation of a smart meter at your home or business.  Any change to your electricity tariff is agreed between you and your electricity supplier.  

Customers can apply to ESB Networks or their electricity supplier for a prioritised installation of a smart meter.  When contacting us you'll need your 11-digit MPRN number to hand.  This can be found on your electricity supply bill and always starts with '10'.

A smart meter records both your electricity consumption and if you are exporting electricity to the grid. As a result, the rollout of smart meters has enabled the introduction of an interim microgeneration support scheme. This was launched by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications in December 2021.

To receive payment for the actual amount of excess electricity (e.g using solar panels) you sell to the grid, you will need a smart meter.  To find out more visit here.

To date, as part of the national meter upgrade programme, we have been replacing standard 24-hour electricity meters to smart meters.

Since September 2023, we started exchanging two new meter types, these include:

• Day/Night meters which have two registers to separately record the electricity you use during day and night.
• Replacing the meters for customers who no longer use their Night Storage Heating meters with a smart meter.

We will notify all customers in advance about the roll out in their area and individual meter exchange.

From September 2023, the rollout programme is being extended to include the exchange of Day/Night meters. 

All customers who have these meters will be upgraded to a Day/Night smart meter.  It will be a like for like exchange. Customers will remain on their existing price plans with their electricity supplier. The exchange facilitates access to the enhanced benefits of a smart meter including customer access to their electricity usage via ESB Networks Online Account.

We will notify all customers in advance about the roll out in their area and individual meter exchange.

There is no change to the timing of the night period on the new smart meter.  

The hours are:  

Winter - between 11pm-8am (late October to late March)  

Summer - between 12am-9am (late March to late October). 

Yes, you will be able to read your new smart meter.  Please view our 'How to read your Day/Night meter' video here.

Customers with smart meters can now access details of the electricity they have consumed and exported through ESB Networks Online Account here.  

From September 2023, the rollout programme is being extended to include the exchange of night storage meters to smart meters will begin.

We are starting with customers who have not used their night storage meter in the last two years. This involves the removal of the night storage meter and the installation of a new 24 hour smart meter. Following the exchange customers will  continue to use electricity in the same way as they do today, while enjoying the benefits of a smart meter including access to their electricity usage via ESB Networks Online Account.   

We will notify all customers in advance about the roll out in their area and individual meter exchange.

The rollout of smart meters for 3 Phase customers will begin in 2025.  The deployment will initially focus on those 3 Phase customers who are on a standard 24-hour electricity tariff. 

For enquiries or further information, please email us at esbnetworks@esb.ie or call us on our Smart Meter Telephone Line

 1800 928 123 or 01 6985005

Below are the steps involved in replacing your meter:

• You will receive a letter a few weeks in advance of your meter replacement.
• If your electricity meter is outdoors and easily accessible you don't need to be home for us to carry out the meter replacement.
• If your meter is located inside we will arrange an appointment with you.
• An ESB Networks technician or an electrical contractor working on our behalf will come to your property to remove your existing meter and replace it with the new smart meter.  All our installers carry photo ID badges identifying them.
• To do the work safely we will need to turn off your electricity supply for approximately 45 minutes.
• We will also undertake a safety assessment of the ESB Networks meter installation and, where necessary, may carry out additional remedial works, at no cost to you.

Your New Smart Meter (PDF | 230 KB)

The replacement work will be carried out by either an ESB Networks technician or an electrical contractor working on our behalf.  All of our installers carry photo ID badges identifying them.

ESB Networks technicians and electrical contractors working on our behalf carry photo identification badges.  All ID badges have a photograph of the installer, company logos and clearly state they are working for, or on behalf, of ESB Networks.  If you have any concerns you can call ESB Network on 1800 928 123 or 01 698 5005.

There is no additional charge for upgrading your meter.  Like other meter upgrades, the cost is included in your existing charges for use of the electricity network.

The new smart meter will be located in the same place as your existing one.

No, ESB Networks is replacing meters for all customers, regardless of your electricity supplier.

ESB Networks will contact all customers who have previously registered as requiring special assistance in order to make a suitable appointment for their meter replacement.

To register as requiring special assistance contact your electricity supply company with your MPRN (which can be found on your electricity supply bill and always starts with '10').  This will ensure that ESB Networks can look after you and members of your household in the event of a power outage in your area and when your meter is due to be replaced.

Once installed, your new smart meter will establish its connection to ESB Networks secure communications network over the next 30 days.  When this process is completed your meter will be read remotely, and you will then be able to access new smart services offered by electricity suppliers.  These smart services will vary across different electricity suppliers. To find out more, and to access these services contact your current supplier or any other electricity supplier.

Once your new smart meter has connected to our secure communications network, it will then send automatic readings.  The meter readings collected will be shared with your supply company to allow them to prepare an accurate bill as they do today.

There may still be occasions when remote meter readings are not able to be captured which could result in an estimated bill.

Should you wish to take a meter reading yourself, the process is simple.  To read your meter you'll see your cumulative meter reading in kilowatt hours, or "kWh" on the main digital display screen.  Your don't need to press any buttons on the meter.

• Read the on-screen digits displayed before "kWh" from left to right, remembering to include all digits when reading.

If you wish to see your meter readings for night time, day time, peak time or your export of electricity, you will need to press the push button on your meter:

• Display screen:  Your cumulative meter reading
• Press one:  Date & time screen
• Press two:  Your cumulative meter reading
• Press three:  'Night' time meter reading.  “A+” and “T1” will appear in the top right-hand corner
• Press four:  'Day' time reading.  “A+” and “T2”  will appear in the top right-hand corner
• Press five:  'Peak' time reading.  “A+” and “T3”  will appear in the top right-hand corner.
• Press six: Test screen display
• Press seven: This is the total active energy export register (Micro generation customers), and “A-“ will appear in the top right hand corner.  

How to read your smart meter

You can contact your current electricity supplier or any other electricity supply company to enquire about what smart services are available to you.

There are a few reasons why you might have received an estimated bill from your supplier.

• Over the first 30 days from when your meter is installed, it will establish its connection to our secure communications network.  When this process is completed your meter will send us its readings automatically.  If you've only recently had your smart meter installed the bill may have been created before we started taking automatic readings.
• Sometimes there may be intermittent periods where we lose connection with your meter, this could be caused by our telecommunication network provider carrying out maintenance to the network in your area, a physical obstruction in the way, or by bad weather.
• Your meter may be in an area of low connectivity where it can't connect to our secure communications network.  We can complete a number of checks to ascertain if this is the issue.

We'll try to get an automatic read again from your meter next time but if your bills continue to be estimated please contact us on: 

1800 928 123 or 01 6985005 so that we can look into this for you.

• The ‘day’ period is from 8am to 11pm but excludes the ‘peak’ period
• The ‘peak’ period which is from 5pm to 7pm
• The ‘night’ period is from 11pm to 8am

The rates charged to customers for these products are determined by each energy supply company.

When your smart meter is installed it will take 30 days to establish its connection to our secure communications network.  When this process is completed you will be able to access the new smart services offered by electricity suppliers.

In a small number of cases your meter may not connect to our secure communications network because your meter may be in an area of low connectivity or there may be a physical obstruction in the way.

If we cannot connect remotely to your smart meter you can still avail of the standard time-of-use tariff through your electricity supply company, this will require a meter reader to visit your premises as is the case currently.  Time of use tariffs will enable you to shift your electricity consumption to times of the day when electricity is cheaper.

If your electricity supplier tells you that your meter is not connecting to our secure communications network, please contact us on: 

1800 928 123 or 01 698 5005

ESB Networks have a total commitment to your health and safety.  The upgraded smart meters will be safe and will comply with all necessary requirements and international standards.  Health authorities around the world, including the World Health Organization (WHO), have assessed the scientific evidence and there are no established health effects from smart meters which use similar technology to that used in your mobile phone.

See more information on smart meters and health

The Government and the Commission for Regulation of Energy (CRU) require that old mechanical meters are replaced with smart meters. To date over 1.4 million upgraded smart meters have been installed in households and small businesses across Ireland. The new smart meter provides you with better information about your electricity usage and can help you take control of your usage.  With so much of our everyday lives reliant on energy it makes sense to use the best technology to manage it.If you have concerns or would like your the smart meter removed you can contact us.  If you are not satisfied with our response we will log a complaint and provide you with contact details for the CRU. However we wish to highlight that the CRU have not upheld customer complaints of this nature.

You are now able to view and download a detailed breakdown of your electricity consumption and, where applicable, your export data, directly through your ESB Networks Online Account.

You will be able to see your daily, weekly and monthly electricity usage which will help you manage your consumption. In addition, for microgeneration customers you will be able to view the electricity you have exported onto the grid.

Sign up for your ESB Networks Online Account at : myaccount.esbnetworks.ie  

Once installed your smart meter records details of your electricity consumption, any electricity exported onto the grid, events, alerts and instrumentation data related to the power supply at your house or premises.

See more information on Smart Meters and Data

ESB Networks is committed to ensuring that the National Smart Metering Programme is delivered in compliance with all applicable data privacy laws and that all customer personal data is safe and secure.

The meter has been independently tested from a cyber security perspective and our IT systems, which are protected by multiple firewalls, are also subject to regular independent testing and review.  All data collected from the meter is encrypted and will be securely stored by ESB Networks.

See more information on Smart Meters and Data