Is there a catch to switching to Smarter Pay?

-Vega-

So I see Electric Ireland are offering a smarter pay as you go thing. You get a hand held meter in your home that monitors your ESB usage. 

Says it costs 29cent a day, so already is it 105 euro extra a year? Is that the ONLY catch? They have guys going around door to door asking if we want it installed, I asked them to call back tomorrow.

Electric Ireland: Una

Hi -Vega-

Thanks very much for your interest in Smarter PAYG with Electric Ireland.

Yes, it is correct that there is the 29 cent service charge per day (so that if any maintenance needs to be carried out subsequently, there would be no payment required). This 29 cent is charged to the customer's Smarter PAYG meter daily, it is not combined into an advance lump sum for the year.

Otherwise, the Smarter PAYG customer is charged the same as any residential electricity customer on a standard unit rate (amount per rate depending on whether their ESB Networks usage meter is 24-hour or day/night) with the breakdown as follows:

- Units used
- Daily standing charge (dependent on the meter type as per above, and whether the property is urban or rural)
- Government PSO levy
- VAT @ 13.5%

Our dedicated PAYG team can be contacted on 1850 30 50 95 until 8pm Monday to Saturday for customers who are interested in having Smarter PAYG installed.

Kind regards,
Una

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danjo-xx

OP prepay - no way - or only if you can't manage bill pay.