Electric Ireland: About 1,000 customers still having keypad problems

Electric Ireland has apologised to affected customers

Electric Ireland says about 1,000 customers are still seeking resolution to an issue which saw a number of customers lose power after a keypad fault.

The error, which has affected up to 4,500 customers, meant some meters were capped at a £10 credit limit.

The firm issued some guidance to those affected.

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

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.

Bill Coyle, Northern Ireland residential manager for Electric Ireland, told BBC Radio Ulster's Good Morning Ulster programme it realised the impact on its customers and was "really sorry for that".

"There are about 4,500 who are potentially affected by this and we have communicated out to those customers by text or email to let them know that they are in the affected group," he said, on Wednesday morning.

"I would just like to assure anybody else at this stage if you have not got a text or email from us or you didn't vend in the early hours of Wednesday morning until midday on Thursday, those customers are fine, your meter is working as normal.

"We have issued a solution to 3,500 customers as of last night, that leaves 1,000.

"Our teams are continuing to work on this at the moment, we intend to issue further instructions to another batch of customers this morning and will continue to do that during the day."

• Electric Ireland fault could affect up to 4,500

• Customers without electricity due to top-up issues

Electric Ireland had previously said it could be the middle of the week before the keypad fault was resolved for most customers.

Some customers had to empty their freezers of food after having no electricity for more than 48 hours at the weekend.

'Grasp the nettle'

John French, Utility Regulator chief executive, described the situation as "horrendous" and said it should have been dealt with earlier.

He said it constantly monitored the performance of electricity supply companies in Northern Ireland.

"They [Electric Ireland] are starting to grasp the nettle now, but they could have done it a lot sooner," Mr French told BBC News NI.

"We have been on with them, explaining what we expect as the minimum standards around this and what we expect them to do.

"They needed to front up earlier than what they have done, but hopefully they are grasping the nettle now and hopefully consumers will be back on supply as quick as possible.

"It is an unfortunate error, but it should have been dealt with quicker."

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

Earlier this week, Peter McClenaghan, of the Consumer Council, said "thousands of people" were stressed by the situation and it was essential that Electric Ireland "step up to the plate".

He added that the organisation would push for compensation for people.

Mr Coyle said: "It goes without saying that we are going to refund for any top ups that we have had to cancel.

"In relation to compensation, we are examining this with a view to adhering to regulatory and industrial norms, particularly for customers that are without supply for a long period of time, but right now our focus has to be on getting this issue resolved for our customers."

Mr Coyle also said the company was confident it had not been in breach of its licence obligations, in "an unprecedented situation".

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 said, in a statement.

"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".