I have a smart meter. Why did I receive an estimated bill?

There are a few reasons why customers with smart meters may occasionally receive an estimated bill. 

Over the first 30 days from when your meter is installed, it will establish its connection to ESB Networks. If you've only recently had your smart meter installed, your bill may have been created before ESB Networks started taking automatic readings.

Occasionally there may be intermittent periods where ESB Networks loses connection with your meter. This could be caused by maintenance to the telecommunications network in your area, a physical obstruction, or bad weather.

In this instance, ESB Networks will estimate your usage for that interval or period. If a single read is estimated, the entire bill has to be considered estimated.

If you're on a half-hourly interval smart tariff

The estimated usage will usually be replaced by actual usage as soon as the meter connectivity is restored. Sometimes, the estimates remain on the account. The total consumption on your bill will still be accurate, as actual reads resumed the following day.

You can see which reads were estimated by checking your bill, or your online account. On your bill, take a look at the 'daily usage' graph. Estimated reads will be in blue on the graph. On your online account, view your usage (for the previous day, week, month or year) in grid view. Once in grid view, any line items which have the letter E beside them represent estimated readings.

See image below as an example of what the grid view looks like. The figures below are for illustrative purposes only.

If you're on our Smart Standard Tariff or any non-interval smart tariff

ESB Networks will continue to attempt to read the meter remotely. If they can't do this, they will visit the site and take a read in person.

If you're on a legacy/non-smart tariff

If there's a difference between the estimated read and your next actual read, you don't need to do anything as we'll make an adjustment on your next bill.

If you continue to receive estimated reads or bills for a prolonged period

If you've a smart meter but continue to receive estimated reads and bills, your meter may be in an area of low connectivity where it can't connect to ESB Networks. In this instance, you can contact ESB Networks directly 1800 928 123 or 01 6985005 and they will look into this for you.

If you're on a half-hourly interval smart tariff and your smart meter connectivity deteriorates for a prolonged period and can't be restored, your meter will no longer be able to support half-hourly readings to ESB Networks. In this case, you'll be required to move onto a non-half-hourly tariff. This is outlined in the terms and conditions of your tariff (Section 7e). We'll always contact you to confirm what plan you should switch to if this happens.