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Customer Area How to read your meter

Understanding how to read a meter is essential for keeping track of your electricity usage and ensuring accurate billing. Whether you have an ESB meter or another model, this guide covers everything you need to know.

Understanding Your Meter

What is an Electricity Meter?

There are four main types of electric and gas meters and while there are slight differences in how each will display a reading, generally they can all be read in a similar way.

Why should you read your meter?

An electricity or gas meter records the amount of energy your home has used, and it is therefore important that we have up-to-date meter readings to keep your bills accurate.

If we do not receive meter readings from you when requested, then we have to use estimate readings for billing. Therefore, providing actual meter readings to avoid estimate billing, is always best.

When should you read your electric or gas meter?

When should you read your electric or gas meter?

Your meter will be read four times per year by ESB Networks or Gas Networks Ireland and this information will be sent to us as your energy supplier.

Outside of these times we will ask you to read your electric or gas meter and provide us with the reading which we then use to calculate your bill. If we do not receive a meter reading from you, we will use an estimate based on your previous energy usage.

Reading your electric meter:

Here's our guide to reading your electric meter. Read all the numbers from left to right & ignore red numbers / numbers with a box around them.

Standard meter reading:

Standard meter reading:

If you have night storage heaters, you will have two meters so it is important you read both and submit readings from both meters.
Day & Night meter reading:

Day & Night meter reading:

These meters may differentiate night & day by using the numbers ‘1’ & ‘2’ or ‘I’ & ‘II’. Read both numbers from left to right & provide both readings.
Standard electronic meter reading:

Standard electronic meter reading:

Press the blue button until ‘Day’ or ‘Night’ appears, ignore figures in red/past the decimal point, and submit both the day and night readings.
*Digital Electricity meter reading:

*Digital Electricity meter reading:

If you have a 24-hour meter: Press the blue button twice: ‘0’ appears, followed by a reading. Read the numbers left to right.

How to take and submit your meter reading

Reading your gas meter:

Digital Meter

Digital Meter

With a digital meter where you can directly read the numbers (digits) as in the diagram below, press the red button A, read all the figures displayed on your meter from left to right (including zero's if displayed) and ignore any digits to the right of the comma, (or on some meters ignore the digits in the red box).
Dial (clock meter):

Dial (clock meter):

If you have a dial (clock) meter it will display a series of dials, see the diagram. The four small dials at the bottom of the meter should be read from left to right.

The position of the pointer on the dial indicates what the reading should be. If the pointer is between two figures, use the lower figure, e.g. if it is between 7 and 8, use 7. However, if the pointer is between 9 and 0, use 9.Place the numbers in the corresponding squares on the No Access card (see example below).

Meter Type B

Meter Type B

When a Gas Networks Ireland meter reader cannot access your meter to read it, they will leave a 'no access' card. This 'no access' card shows the date of the call and your GPRN. Every gas point in the country has a unique identification number known as a Gas Point Registration Number (GPRN).

To ensure your gas bill is accurate, please read your meter and submit an accurate reading using either our online Web-A-Read or call our 24-hour Dial-A-Read service on 1800 42 77 32.You must always quote your GPRN, which can be found on the no access card or on your bill issued by your natural gas supplier.

Ways to submit your meter reading

Once you have read your meter you will need to send the reading to us. There are four ways in which you can submit this to us...

Online

Login to your Energy Online account
Login

By phone

Call us on 0818 405 405

By text

0879609223 include your MPRN and your meter reading

Email

By emailing [email protected]
Smart Meter Reading

Smart Meter Reading

If you have a Smart Meter you will no longer need to have your meter read by ESB Networks as the readings are automatically sent to them and shared with us.

If your Smart Meter has good connectivity, then there should be no requirement for you to manually send us a meter reading however if you have some connectivity issues with your Smart Meter then a meter reader may call to take a meter reading. Check out our guide on how to read a smart meter if ever you require to manually get a meter reading.

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Frequently Asked Questions