Living on an Island paying high prices for electricity. You would think by this day an age we could put them Atlantic currents to use by using wind turbines!

@phillip. Wind turbines are not powered by electricity.

John I’ve no problem paying for it. But electricity is a necessity not something for pleasure. My issue is the ridiculous prices they charge and the price hikes they add on. And my other issue is they made an agreement that once someone makes an effort to pay they won’t cut them off. I made such an agreement of so much per week when I was out of work. The girl I dealt with told me that I was in danger to be cut off cos they wanted double what I could afford to pay. Now that’s disgusting. it’s also not my responsibility to read my meter. They put a charge on my bill for this. So in response to your conment. I don’t mind paying for electricity. But I don’t like the way people are treated when there on hard times.

I’ve had the ESB threaten to cut me off cos they had estimated 3 bills and then send a bill that was read. they told me it was up to me to read the meter and ring in the reading. arseholes. even tho I was making payments each week. at least dick turpin wore a mask when he robbed people. these feckers do it bare faced.

@Donncha. I do read my meter because 3 out of 4 bills is estimated. And I have shopped around. but like I said other companys will put there charges up after a certain amount of time.
@ faithless I found they had they had a terrible attitude. The way the girl threatened to cut me off cos I couldn’t pay the amount she wanted me to pay. Even tho I was making an effort to make weekly payments.

Look people need electricity and gas to keep warm cook food and so on. it is a needed service.
And more so then anything I feel so sorry for elderly and venerable people who are afraid to put on the heating and that cos there afraid of the bills they will get. That’s a sad state of affairs.

Having worked in the past for ESB electric Ireland I have very little sympathy for people who don’t read the meter on an estimated bill.

Electricity is not a right. It is a service you get in advance and pay for after. Few customers seem to realise this.

If doesn’t help that agencies like Mabs tell people in trouble to stop paying the electricity bills as a first point of action.

I eagerly await the tide of red thumbs.

My ESB bill is a metre read bill at least every third bill, tho usually every second. This is because my metre box is at the front of the house so the metre man can read it easily. If they cannot access your metre freely, then you are obliged to ring in the metre reading. It makes sense to do this anyway, to keep on top of your bill amount. My bills are seldom estimated, and I am careful about my usage, as a result, my bills are always very low. Electricity is surely the one bill that you NEED to pay, it would be very difficult to do without.

John, energy is expensive because the utility companies are overstuffed and overpaid. Which one do you work for?

Lets cable ourselves into the UK, increase competition, build a nuclear power plant etc

The cost of electricity for the average household is about 5% of total outgoings (food, rent/mortgage, clothing, entertainment, etc) so in the overall scheme of things it shouldn’t be a huge burden.

The problem arises for many people because the bill arrives only every two months. They are then faced with the prospect of having to pay it within a couple of weeks. If one bill is ignored, before they know it they have a four-month bill and suddenly they are in over their heads.

One way to avoid this would be to pay TOWARDS your next bill. Calculate how much you are using per week and pay this through a post office, other payment outlets or online (ESB Electric Ireland allows you to pay any amount by Laser on their website).

Don’t wait for the bill to arrive before doing so. Once you have a bill paid continue paying each week towards your next one. By the time it arrives it will be substantially paid off or could be in credit.

Avoid the situation Pip found herself in by checking each bill and if it’s estimated submit your own reading either by phone or online. You will then get an amended bill. At least two bills will be estimated – meter readers call to premises four times a year but there are six billing periods. And sometimes when they call there is no access to the meter so the reading will be estimated. Remember, you can get any estimated bill adjusted to your own reading and it is vital to do so if there is a significant difference between the estimate and the actual reading. If you fail to do so you will eventually get a very nasty surprise in the post when an actual reading is taken and you get billed for accumulated usage.

@John. I didn’t wait to see if one bill was estimated before paying it. When I was out of work I tried to pay so much per week. Now its kinda hard to pay towards your next bill when your trying to pay one off. As I’ve said in other posts. its a need these days and people need electricity and so on. specially if you have kids or are elderly. And its not the paying for it. its the increases they keep adding on. And I can tell you for certain out of the last 6 bills I have received 2 were read. And for the girl to tell me that’s its my responsibility to read my meter. how’s that my job.

It’s not your job to read the meter, Pip, but it’s in your self-interest to do so if the meter reader fails to get access to it. All the electricity suppliers highlight estimated readings on their bills and invite customers to submit their own readings. This can be done by phone or online. You are only asking for trouble in the form of a large bill if you fail to do so.

Sine when did we start calling companies firms????

as I’ve said already I don’t mind paying for electricity. But what gets me is their attitude. And the increases they keep putting on the bills. and other suppliers are out there and yeah they May be cheaper. but read the small print. that’s for a while then their prices go right up too. so better the devil you know