Electric Ireland: Meter issues may cost small business hundreds

Eileen McKeown says the Electric Ireland keypad fault is preventing her from being able to fulfil her small business orders

An Electric Ireland customer has said she could potentially lose hundreds of pounds in sales if her electricity is not restored by tomorrow.

Eileen McKeown, from Moy, County Tyrone, is one of a number of Electric Ireland customers who have lost power as part of a keypad fault.

She runs a small business from her home.

"I do my orders for Thursday so I need to have my electric back otherwise there's nothing I can do," she said.

"I have 20kg of granola to cook which takes me a full day.

"I had cakes in the oven that are now ruined because the electricity went off and two fridges and freezers full of food which could go off pretty quickly, given the weather."

Electric Ireland is Northern Ireland's third-largest electricity supplier, with about 100,000 customers.

It said over the weekend that the error meant some meters were capped at a £10 credit limit and issued some guidance to customers affected.

• Electric Ireland fault could affect up to 4,500

• Customers without electricity due to top-up issues

The company said the problem only hit customers who topped up their meters between midnight on 30 August and 13:23 BST on 31 August.

When Eileen and her husband tried to top up their meter on the evening of Sunday, 3 September, they were not aware of the problem other customers had been facing.

She said her husband Paddy tried to put through a £40 top-up a number of times with no success.

She had some difficulty getting through to customer service on Monday to try and rectify the problem.

"I tried all day on the phone, on email, on social media but no answer," she told BBC News NI.

"Today (Tuesday), I was on hold for an hour and 20 minutes before I got through."

The fault has affected up to 4,500 customers across Northern Ireland

When the problem was explained to her, she asked the customer service representative if she could go ahead with a £10 top-up as suggested, but was told it would not be possible.

"There was nothing the girl could do," Eileen said, adding she would pass on their details and they would be in contact.

"The battery left on my phone after that was on 15%, so I had to sit in the car to charge it up to see if they ring me back - which they have not."

In a statement, Electric Ireland said it was continuing to work to reset the meters of customers who have been affected.

"We appreciate this is very challenging for the affected customers and their families and we are really sorry for the upset caused," it continued.

"We appreciate your patience as we work to resolve this complex issue."

It also said customers should not top up their meters until they receive instruction from them to do so, and that topping up before this "may delay the reset of their meter".