Is it possible to get a different electricity supplier if cut off?

yoloc

If esb turn you off for not paying a bill, can you phone another eletric provider and get turned on again even if youve an outstanding bill with esb.

Engine No.9

Nope. ESB puts a lock of some sort on the meter. Even if u wanted to go with a new provider, they'd have to get ESB networks to remove the lock, which they won't.

Edit: when I say lock, I do mean an actual physical lock. Saw one about 7 r 8 yrs ago so don't know if the methods changed but that's how they used to do it.

Moonbeam

They used to be able to not sure if they still can but once you put a payment plan in place they are usually happy.

The_Conductor

ESB Networks manage metering for all companies.
It used to be common for people to hop all over the place, leaving bills in their wake- I'm not sure what mechanisms are in place, however it did come to a head about a year ago- and they came to some agreement that it wouldn't be possible to change supplier until your bill with the current supplier was cleared.

If you get cut-off, its a different matter again- there are callout fees and a reconnection fee to ESB networks- ontop of whatever charges may apply from the company you are currently with.

yoloc

What would the longest payment plan be. I have a bill of 600 for a house im not in much and dont want to be forking out 600 all at once. Fs all the cost is is charges, very little lecy gets used, id say just the fridge freezer and a shower every few weeks. (No i dont just get showered every few weeks before some smart ass says so lol)

wmpdd3

The longest plan they would give me for nearly double that was 8 Weeks. After the first missed payment they were at the door for a disconnection.

Ask Esb for a pay as you go meter, that is what I had to do.

Out of every 10 credit you buy, 2.50 goes of your arrears.

The_Conductor

yoloc wrote: »

What would the longest payment plan be. I have a bill of 600 for a house im not in much and dont want to be forking out 600 all at once. Fs all the cost is is charges, very little lecy gets used, id say just the fridge freezer and a shower every few weeks. (No i dont just get showered every few weeks before some smart ass says so lol)

If the property is unoccupied 95% of the time- and all you do use when you're there is the refrigerator and the electric shower- would investing in a generator be a better proposition? Why pay connection charges- for something you're not using?

murphaph

But don't forget that pay as you go meters deduct the equivalent of the standing charge as well and then cost slightly more per unit for actual electricity. They help budgeting but are not cheaper for a given number of units used, regardless of how infrequently they are used.

melekalikimaka

wmpdd3 wrote: »

The longest plan they would give me for nearly double that was 8 Weeks. After the first missed payment they were at the door for a disconnection.

Ask Esb for a pay as you go meter, that is what I had to do.

Out of every 10 credit you buy, 2.50 goes of your arrears.

you'd get six months, and maybe more if you are nice, eight weeks seems very short, thats only one billing period if you are bi monthly, which provider?

yoloc

melekalikimaka wrote: »

you'd get six months, and maybe more if you are nice, eight weeks seems very short, thats only one billing period if you are bi monthly, which provider?

They may accept i pay it over 12 months or they can turn me off and take me to court for tge money. Looks like ill have to get a generater in

karareilly

i know somebody that got cut off by esb, didnt pay the bill rang a few days later said he just moved in to the apartment and could he get a switched back on gave differant name the esb was none of the wiser!!

zl1whqvjs75cdy

I don't understand this attitude. You used the service so you have to pay for it. Trying to find a way to weasel out of it is pretty scummy.

yoloc

On another note. I know someone who owns a holiday home near me and owe more for longer and they still havent been turned off. How long does it take for them to actully turn ones eletric off and what are the costs to get re connected.

Is it possible to run a length of wire from one house to another. i have a family member who lives about 2 acre away. Was thinking can i tap into his house instead of paying these charges.

murphaph

yoloc wrote: »

On another note. I know someone who owns a holiday home near me and owe more for longer and they still havent been turned off. How long does it take for them to actully turn ones eletric off and what are the costs to get re connected.

Is it possible to run a length of wire from one house to another. i have a family member who lives about 2 acre away. Was thinking can i tap into his house instead of paying these charges.

Would you have the permission of the landowner between the houses? I'd be extremely wary of that as a long term solution-say some kid somehow electrocutes himself on your cable. It'd also need to be a substantial cable to be able to run your oven/power shower, so a normal extension lead wouldn't cut it.

I'd also be double checking my insurance policy to make sure it's permitted to have no electricity supply. To an insurer that would immediately raise flags, should a claim ever be made. Are they aware the property is barely inhabited?

ameee

I was struggling with a bill of about three hundred and they set up a payment plan of 40 euro a week. They are very reasonable if you get in touch with them.

yoloc

murphaph wrote: »

Would you have the permission of the landowner between the houses? I'd be extremely wary of that as a long term solution-say some kid somehow electrocutes himself on your cable. It'd also need to be a substantial cable to be able to run your oven/power shower, so a normal extension lead wouldn't cut it.

I'd also be double checking my insurance policy to make sure it's permitted to have no electricity supply. To an insurer that would immediately raise flags, should a claim ever be made. Are they aware the property is barely inhabited?

We own the land. No kids are or will be near it. It will be armoured cable. Insurance dont know uninhabbited but dont tell them lol.

jlm29

donkeyoaty0099 wrote: »

I don't understand this attitude. You used the service so you have to pay for it. Trying to find a way to weasel out of it is pretty scummy.

This. Why do you think you shouldn't bother paying it?

wmpdd3

melekalikimaka wrote: »

you'd get six months, and maybe more if you are nice, eight weeks seems very short, thats only one billing period if you are bi monthly, which provider?

I begged them, I told them it would mean I would have to give them half my income for 8 weeks, but they wouldn't budge, I was 15 euro short on week 4 and the guy was at the door to disconnect 6 days later, at a charge of €39. Electric Ireland.

yoloc

donkeyoaty0099 wrote: »

I don't understand this attitude. You used the service so you have to pay for it. Trying to find a way to weasel out of it is pretty scummy.

For a start these charges are riduclous. I think you would agree here witg me. Secondly, even the eletric charges are scandalish. Fs these eletric companies are scum of the earth imo and the costs shouldnt be set so high. So what if someone wants to weasel out of it, its only numbers at the end of the day. We are talking about a massive company that rapes every household in the country, not some small business.

Atlantic Dawn

yoloc wrote: »

We own the land. No kids are or will be near it. It will be armoured cable. Insurance dont know uninhabbited but dont tell them lol.

So it's then an invalid policy and worth nothing in the event of a claim. Perhaps cancel your insurance to put money towards your electricity bill.

Corkbah

yoloc wrote: »

For a start these charges are riduclous. I think you would agree here witg me. Secondly, even the eletric charges are scandalish. Fs these eletric companies are scum of the earth imo and the costs shouldnt be set so high. So what if someone wants to weasel out of it, its only numbers at the end of the day. We are talking about a massive company that rapes every household in the country, not some small business.

if you dont want to pay for electricity ... don't ... but don't go whining when the electricity suppler stops giving it to you for free.

Are you disputing that the unit used electricity ? if so, contact the supplier and get your own independent investigator to check it out - chances are you owe because you used up electricity, switching supplier wont stop this usage !!

you will more than likely run up similar debts with the next supplier and then what ?? switch again ?? ....OP there is no point in running away from a problem ...address it now and get it sorted.....if everyone tried to "weasel" out like you then what happens the electricity companies ...they up their rates ...and those that cannot afford have to do without !!

if you are not there for long periods of time...why not turn off appliances, plug things out, shut off shower at mains - check the appliances energy ratings ...chances are you'll find that the bill is lower when you dont use the units.

if you feel that ALL electricity suppliers are a rip-off monopoly ... make your own with hydro electric power, solar panels, wind turbines .... if you are not using a whole lot of electricity then you could end out making money by putting your electricity into the grid.

As regards your idea of running a cable approx 2km - that would probably cost more than your current outstanding bill ?? ... how would the other property owner feel with you mooching ....would they be willing to pay for any electricity you use ? (I doubt it) and in the long term it would make your current place almost impossible to sell in the future.

murphaph

yoloc wrote: »

For a start these charges are riduclous. I think you would agree here witg me. Secondly, even the eletric charges are scandalish. Fs these eletric companies are scum of the earth imo and the costs shouldnt be set so high. So what if someone wants to weasel out of it, its only numbers at the end of the day. We are talking about a massive company that rapes every household in the country, not some small business.

Electricity (and most forms of energy) is cheaper in Ireland than Germany. People think Ireland is expensive for everything. It isn't.

Not sure this thread isn't trolling however.

Victor

yoloc wrote: »

We are talking about a massive company that rapes every household in the country, not some small business.

Please use more appropriate words.

Moderator

Patrickof

karareilly wrote: »

i know somebody that got cut off by esb, didnt pay the bill rang a few days later said he just moved in to the apartment and could he get a switched back on gave differant name the esb was none of the wiser!!

Sounds like a tall tale to be honest. All elec companies insist on a signed copy of a lease before they will turn back on the power. And it must be signed by the landlord too. If you claim you just bought the house, they will require evidence of that either.

They're basically accepting that the outstanding debt is now "gone", and they don't do that lightly.

antoinolachtnai

As a general rule you cannot run your own private distribution between different premises. ESB Networks has the only licence for distributing electricity. You could argue your way around this if you really wanted to, and ESB Networks mightn't waste too much time on you (although if they weren't happy with the standard of your installation, they would cut you off without any notice, as they are entitled to do).

If you do this and cut off the electricity you will have to pay very large fees to get it reconnected. You would be devaluing the property, because few people are interested in buying or renting a property that doesn't have an ESB connection.

Running your own distribution is not a cheap thing to do either.

murphaph

If this is not a wind up and he owns the land across which he wants to bury a feeder cable from an existing metered supply then he doesn't have to ever inform the ESB. It's no different than someone running power from their house to their shed/outbuilding at the end of the garden/yard. He just has to conform to building regs (depth of trench, marker tape etc.) and there's nothing anyone can do to prevent it. You only need a certificate of conformity from a RECI when you are looking for a connection/reconnection, not when extending the consumer side circuit, otherwise we'd all have to contact the ESB every time we installed some new lights!

It's a lot of hassle to save on the standing charge however and as mentioned above, if he ever wants to sell he'll have to reinstate the ESB networks connection.

Tinkerbell4484

They never just disconnect. The disconnection fella rings his office to give the final meter reading and you are then asked to speak to the office person. They give you an option of a payg meter,or disconnection.
This happens regardless of how high your arrears are, so you must of had that option at some stage

antoinolachtnai

murphaph wrote: »

If this is not a wind up and he owns the land across which he wants to bury a feeder cable from an existing metered supply then he doesn't have to ever inform the ESB. It's no different than someone running power from their house to their shed/outbuilding at the end of the garden/yard. He just has to conform to building regs (depth of trench, marker tape etc.) and there's nothing anyone can do to prevent it. You only need a certificate of conformity from a RECI when you are looking for a connection/reconnection, not when extending the consumer side circuit, otherwise we'd all have to contact the ESB every time we installed some new lights!

If it is not a wind up as you say, and if it is an auxiliary property to the main property, sure. If it is a free-standing property, a premises in its own right, he is probably not entitled to run a spur to it. This is certainly something that there could be an argument over.

Strictly speaking, you need to have any new electrical installation certified. ESB will not care about seeing this cert, true enough. That said, if they come out to remove the meter, find an alternative connection from another building and they are not happy with the safety, then they can certainly cut the main building off on safety grounds. This is not particularly likely to happen, but it certainly could if everybody decided to get bloody-minded, and ESB Networks would be within their rights.

It is certainly not a great plan for saving money.