Pay As You Go Electricity Terms & Conditions

DEFINITIONS

‘Budget Controller’ means the budget controller supplied by us and installed by our agents for the purpose of recording payments for electricity consumption and disconnecting your supply if payments are not made. 

‘Smarter Budget Controller’ means the budget controller with remote communications capabilities supplied by us and installed by our agents for the purpose of recording payments for electricity consumption, providing remote access for us to readings and other data on the Smarter Budget Controller and with the capability of self-disconnecting your supply if payments are not made.  

‘Pay As You Go (PAYG) Meter’ means the electricity meter installed by the DSO for the purpose of measuring the quantity of electricity used by you at the premises. This meter will record payments for electricity consumption and/or will allow you to pay off arrears and will disconnect your supply if payments are not made. 

‘PAYG payment card’ means the card provided to allow you to Top Up your Pay As You Go Meter/Smarter budget Controller. 

‘Top Up’ means payments made by you in cash or by card at any Payzone outlet, by telephone , text or online.  

‘Equipment’ means the PPP Equipment and any ancillary items installed by our agents. 

‘PPP Equipment’ means the pre-payment product installed by our agents comprising the Pay As You Go Meter/Budget Controller/Smarter Budget Controller and Keypad Unit/IHD (as appropriate).  

‘Keypad Unit’ means the keypad unit provided by Electric Ireland along with the Pay As You Go Meter/Budget Controller/Smarter Budget Controller to assist in recording payments and viewing consumption. 

‘In-Home Display’ (IHD) means the device provided by us for the purposes of controlling and communicating with the Smarter budget Controller 

Except where otherwise stated, all of these terms & conditions apply to both the Budget Controller and the Smarter Budget Controller.

PAYG

• The Pay As You Go Meter/Budget Controller/Smarter Budget Controller will be used for budgeting purposes, to purchase electricity in advance, similar to pay as you go mobile phone payment arrangements. It can also be used to pay off arrears.
• We will arrange for the installation of a Pay As You Go Meter/Budget Controller/Smarter Budget Controller only if it is safe and practical to do so.
• We will provide you with your Pay As You Go  Top Up card. This card contains your unique Pay As You Go customer number which you will need to make top up payments at any Payzone outlet to your individual Pay As You Go Meter/Budget Controller/ Smarter Budget Controller only.
• You will receive a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 3 statements of account per year, except for customers who are in receipt of Free Electricity Allowance who will continue to receive bi-monthly bills as normal.
• We have the right to investigate where we have reason to believe that a Pay As You Go Meter/Budget Controller/Smarter Budget Controller is not accurately reflecting a customer’s usage. Should a reconciliation show any under/overcharge your account will be adjusted accordingly.
• The Pay As You Go Meter/Budget Controller/Smarter Budget Controller that has been installed in your home is an electrical device and is extremely dangerous if tampered with. This device, and any wires leading to or from the meter should not be tampered with.
• Should your Pay As You Go Meter/Budget Controller/Smarter Budget Controller, or any of the wires connected to it, become faulty, dislodged or damaged, please contact our call centre on 1800 372 372 to report the fault.
• Do not allow any person to touch the meter or the wires. Electric Ireland or its’ representatives will not be held accountable in the event of accidental injury or damage arising from failure to adhere to the above.
• To change supplier, you will need to obtain a de-activation code for your PAYG Meter, you can get this code by contacting us at 1800 372 372.

Smarter Budget Controllers only

The following terms & conditions apply only to customers with Smarter Budget Controllers.

• With your permission, if you opt in, we will remotely gather readings and other data from the Smarter Budget Controller for analysis and possible future provision to you of your energy cost and consumption data. You may withdraw this permission at any time by contacting us.
• We  may ask you to participate in consumer research activities.
• We will provide you with online facilities to register and maintain a Smarter Budget Controller account for the purposes of topping-up and managing advanced pre-payment services.
• We will provide you with an IHD/App  to allow you to control and communicate with your Smarter Budget Controller.
• You will receive a statement of account once per year, except for customers who are in receipt of Free Electricity Allowance who will continue to receive bi-monthly bills as normal.

YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES:

• It is your responsibility to make sure you Top-Up adequately to maintain supply to your property.
• If you are not satisfied you can do so, then our prepayment service may not be suited to your needs. For example, if you are critically ill and reliant on medical equipment that requires a constant supply of electricity, you must ensure that at all times you have sufficient top up to maintain your electricity supply.
• If you believe the PPP Equipment is not recording your usage accurately, or is faulty in any way, you must notify us without delay at 1800 372 372 to report the fault.
• While we do supply emergency credit on the meter you should always keep the meter in credit. For example, if you are away from home for a number of days, the daily standing charge will be taken from the meter along with any usage. If your credit runs out then your appliances, such as a freezer, will switch off. In this case we will not accept any liability.
• You hereby confirmed that you obtained all appropriate consents, permissions and authorisations from your landlord, where relevant, in order to grant to us all rights required by us in order to supply electricity to you, including, without limitation to inspect, read, install, operate, test, calibrate, replace, maintain, repair, renew, remove and disconnect the PPP Equipment at the premises.
• You must allow Electric Ireland authorised personnel, agents or contractors entry to the premises for the purpose of taking readings; inspecting the installation; withdrawing or reinstating the supply or removing the Pay As You Go Meter/Budget Controller/Smarter Budget Controller for all other purposes in connection with providing electricity. Such entry is to be permitted at all reasonable times and at any time in case of emergency.
• You must Not interfere or allow any interference with the meter whether it is for repair or any other purpose. Inform us promptly of any defect in the meter, of any alteration to it or if attention is required.
• You must allow our agents to remove all PPP equipment when your contract terminates. If any PPP Equipment is returned to us other than in a clean and marketable condition, we may charge you for the cost of fixing the PPP Equipment or otherwise restoring the PPP Equipment to a clean and marketable condition.
• When you use a Pay As You Go Meter/Budget Controller it is your responsibility to keep your PAYG payment card clean, safe and free from damage.
• We are not responsible for any faults or problems with any other equipment.
• All personal data collected and processed by Electric Ireland relating to your Pay As You Go installation will be managed in accordance with data protection and privacy laws. For further information on how we manage Your personal data, Your rights and how to exercise them, please refer to Electric Ireland's standard terms and conditions for residential electricity supply and our Privacy Notice.