Electric Ireland working to resolve 'challenging' issue for customers

Electric Ireland has said it is working to resolve a 'complex' keypad issue which is affecting customers.

Around 120 customers lost supply over the weekend with reports some people had lost electricity for more than 48 hours.

The supplier said it is contacting affected customers directly, reconnecting where necessary, and is working to fix the issue as quickly as possible.

It said the error led to some keypad customers in Northern Ireland having their meters capped at a £10 limit.

Peter McClenaghan of the Consumer Council said: "There's been an issue with their prepayment meters and unfortunately that has meant that about four and a half thousand customers are potentially going to run out of electricity.

"We know that over the weekend a number of hundred customers have been affected and have been off power. The situation is ongoing and over the next few days other consumers could be affected.

"It seems that some people have been badly affected and have been off for a period of 24 to 48 hours.

"We're concerned about those people, we will be pressing on Electric Ireland the need to properly compensate those people and do that soon and that means compensating them for the time they've been off electricity but also any residual things like if they've lost a freezer worth of food will the company be compensating for that and we will be pushing hard in the coming days to make sure that that happens."

Electric Ireland said it continues to work to resolve the technical issue which is impacting some keypad customers.

In a statement the firm added: "The vast majority of the approximately 120 customers who lost supply over the weekend have been reconnected.

"Friendly Credit ends at 11am Monday 4 September. Any customer who experiences loss of power when the Friendly Credit ends should initially contact us on 0800 313 4926 and we will check on a case-by-case basis if their meter can be returned to normal operation.

"If we are unable to resolve remotely, we will work with the network operator to replace the meter.

"As we are prioritising customers who have been directly affected by this issue, we respectfully ask those who still have supply not to call us at present in order that we can assist those customers who have lost supply.

"We appreciate this is very challenging for the affected customers and their families. We are really sorry for the upset caused. We acknowledge the inconvenience this is causing and appreciate your patience as we work to resolve this complex issue."   

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