Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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87. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the average lifespan of a smart meter by model; the number of reported meter failures by model; and the average waiting period for smart meter repair. [45623/23]

Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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88. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the methodology used for estimated smart meter readings when a meter has failed; and the avenues individuals have to appeal these readings. [45624/23]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 87 and 88 together.

The National Smart Metering Programme is overseen by the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities (CRU) and ESB Networks (ESBN) have been tasked with the roll out, which involves upgrading all of Ireland’s electricity meters to smart meters. To date over 1.4 million smart meters have been installed out of a total of 2.4 million to be exchanged by 2025.

This roll-out has to date focused on replacing domestic 24 hour (MCCO1) meters, and this has seen two phases of smart meter installed. The specification for both phase 1 and phase 2 meters indicate a lifespan of 15 years.

As of the end of September 2023, the total number of smart meters installed which have been classified as faulty was 2,796, or 0.19% of total installs. This is well within specified tolerance for contracted allowable failure rates. This total was comprised of 2,416 phase 1 meters (0.23%), and 380 phase two meters (0.08%). Both failure rates were within agreed tolerances, however an investigation confirmed that some meters were failing due to outdoor meter cabinets letting in water under certain conditions. Corrective actions were identified by ESBN and this has seen the number of water-related failures reduce significantly.

If a customer or supplier reports a faulty meter to ESBN, a service order is created for a Network Technician visit. It can take up to 22 days from service order creation to a site visit. If a meter is found to be faulty by a network technician, it will be exchanged immediately.

When remote meter readings are not able to be captured from a smart meter, this could result in an estimated bill. There are agreed estimation briefing documents that apply to both Non-Interval and Interval meters. These apply where reads aren’t returned from a meter irrespective of meter type. The technical details of these processes are available in the attached documents.

Where a meter has failed, and if the register reads are not available on exchange, an estimate will be generated based on the previous consumption pattern where the average usage is available from previous readings. If a customer is unhappy with the estimated readings, they can contact ESBN directly to raise a complaint. If they are dissatisfied with ESBN's response, they can raise a complaint with CRU.

Awaiting further information