On the last two occasions (March, May) that the ESB meter reader called to my house, I was out. On each occasion, he left the usual card detailing my options for submitting my own reading. These are
1. Calling the 1850 number (which I have done in the past without problems)
2. Sending the reading by text messsage to an 087 number
3. Sending the reading by email to
reading@esb.ie
Option 2 was new to me when I saw it on the card in March. Of the available options, it suited me best because it's immediate - I just sent an SMS while looking at the meter. On each occasion I sent "MPRN xxxxxx Reading xxxxx Date xx/xx/xx"
My bill arrived today, and I see that readings for both March and May are flagged as E - estimated. As a consequence, my actual meter reading is out of sync with the ESB estimate.
This isn't the end of the world, or anything like it, but I'm curious about this. The ESB web site seems to be mute on the topic.
Has anybody else come across this situation?