ESB Networks has said a smart meter software update that took place last Friday and led to a glitch that mistakenly told customers their usage had soared had been resolved.
The electricity network operator on Tuesday apologised to customers who received incorrect meter readings which led to high and incorrect usage figures showing up on ESB Networks’ online accounts, and on those of suppliers.
Some customers with smart meters were being told they had run up bills of more than €5,000 over the course of a single day.
The issue affected customers of multiple providers, with one Energia customer who contacted The Irish Times saying her reported usage last Sunday was put at 13,000kWh.
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Her actual usage, according to an app the woman uses to track her energy consumption, had been 9kWh. Had the erroneous figure been applied to her account she would have been left with a bill of €5,000 for last Sunday alone.
Other customers on various social media platforms have been reporting estimated usage of closer to €10,000 over the course of a last weekend.
The software glitch prompted Bord Gáis Energy to switch off billing for associated meters to minimise the impact for customers. It said it would not resume the issuing of bills until it received updated data from ESB Networks.
In a statement, the network operator said the issue arose as a result of a planned upgrade to one of its internal systems last Friday. It said the issue has been identified and resolved and it has “commenced correcting all affected data”.
It said customers “do not need to do anything” and their accounts “will automatically adjust to reflect actual usage”.
ESB Networks apologised “for the confusion and concern this has caused” and said it is “working closely with suppliers and other stakeholders”.
