Over the next five years, every home in Ireland will have a smart meter. A national smart metering initiative is a key commitment under the Programme for Government and is crucial to Ireland’s policy to save energy and money through the use of this cutting-edge technology.
Smart meters track the energy use in your home on an hourly basis. By capturing the patterns of energy usage at different times of the day, Smart Meters provide the information necessary to make people aware of how much energy they are using. It is this information that will allow consumers to manage their energy usage more efficiently. This will help in providing very accurate billing information and time-of-use pricing. The electricity supplier will also be able to ultimately reduce costs, improve electricity planning and system management and enhance competition in the electricity sector.
ESB are currently issuing over 60,000 letters of invitation to customers, to take part in Smart Metering pilot programme. Up to 21,000 customers will then be chosen to have a smart meter installed in their home for free as they participate in behavioural and technology trials, the purpose of which is to inform the national roll-out.
If you receive an invitation I would encourage you to take part in the trial. This is an opportunity to make a real contribution to our energy future. Being ?energy clever’ as a consumer, a supply company and a nation is one of the ways we can meet our energy and climate change challenges
