Electric Ireland NI: Compare rates & top up online

Electric Ireland NI is one of six electricity suppliers in Northern Ireland. Until 2015, it only supplied business energy, but since branching out into the domestic market it has gained 1.2 million residential customers. As one of the cheapest suppliers in Northern Ireland, it offers a good range of standard and pay-as-you-go energy plans.

About Electric Ireland NI

Based in Belfast, Electric Ireland NI is the Northern Ireland arm of Ireland’s most well-known electricity supplier, Electric Ireland. It is part of ESB Network.

Electric Ireland NI is the supplier side of ESB in Northern Ireland, selling electricity directly to households. Until 2011, they were known as ESB Customer Supply and ESB Independent Energy.

Today, Electric Ireland NI offers prepayment and credit billing electricity plans to households across Northern Ireland and currently boasts around 1.1 million customers, making it one of the country’s biggest suppliers of electricity.

Who supplies electricity in Northern Ireland?

Electricity in Northern Ireland is supplied by a total of six energy providers. These are:

• Electric Ireland
• SSE Airtricity
• Click EnergyNI
• Budget Energy
• Power NI
• Bright

Business plans

Electric Ireland UK claims to be the market leader for business energy solutions in Northern Ireland. The supplier tailors its business energy solutions to each client.

It offers resources for large, high-energy consuming businesses, as well as small and medium-sized enterprises, with plans for 9-to-5 offices, businesses that open at weekends and firms that use energy heavily at night.

Top up

Customers on one of the Electric Ireland pay as you go plans will need to top up their credit when it runs low. This can be done in four ways: top up online; top up via the app; top up in-store; and top up over the phone.

1. Electric Ireland NI top up online

There are two ways to perform the top up process online. Firstly, you can log in to your Electric Ireland NI online account and top up through your account. This is probably the easiest way as you can save all of your details so future top ups are completed with just a few clicks.

The other online top up option is to do so without logging in. For this, you will need to provide your keypad meter number and payment details every time you top up.

2. Top up app

The Electric Ireland app allows you to perform all top ups from your mobile phone or tablet. The app is available for both Android and Apple devices from the Google Play and App Store respectively.

Log in with your pay as you go details and you can top up in just a few seconds whenever suits you!

3. In-store

Another option is to perform the Electric Ireland NI keypad top up in your nearest PayPoint store. You will need to take your meter key to the store, as the shop assistant to top it up, and then insert your key into your meter to transfer the new credit over.

4. Top up over the phone

Electric Ireland also has a 24/7 automated phone top up service. Just ring 0345 600 5335 to complete the top up process.

The minimum top up amount for Electric Ireland NI is £5, and the maximum is £150. Customers must always to up to the nearest full pound, e.g. £5, £6, £7, not £5.50 etc.

Emergency credit

Electric Ireland NI emergency credit is available when you run out of credit but are unable to top up. The credit is only £1, but it will ensure your supply doesn’t get cut off as soon as you run out.

To access the credit, just press any button on your meter to turn off the meter alarm (this will automatically sound when your credit drops low).

Remember: any emergency credit used will be taken off your next top up.

Electric Ireland NI reviews

Electric Ireland NI reviews online vary widely across platforms. In the 2019 Which? survey, it topped the board again. With a customer service score of 66%, its highest marks were for value for money and bill accuracy. However, in its latest survey Electric Ireland has dropped to 4th place out of the six Northern Irish suppliers, with a score of 63%.

Unfortunately, on Trustpilot and Google reviews, Electric Ireland reviews are not very positive. With a poor rating of 1.6/5 and 2.2/5 respectively, customers mainly complain about poor customer service.

The customer service is awful; takes hours to reach them and even more time to solve the problem. Zhenxing Zhang, Electric Ireland NI customer, Truspilot

Login and account management

The Electric Ireland online account system lets all customers manage their energy tariff from their computer. Services include:

• Submit meter readings
• Make top-up payments
• Receive online billing discount by paying bills online
• Track energy use overtime to find energy-saving habits

To sign in, visit the Electric Ireland NI website and click 'Login' in the top right hand corner. From here you simply need to enter the email address and password associated with your account to access your customer portal.

If you don’t have an account, it’s very easy to set one up. On the login page, click sign up now to register for an account. You will need to provide the following information:

• Email address (this needs to be the one you provided when you signed up for an Electric Ireland NI tariff)
• A password (this needs to be at least eight characters long, and contain one number, one upper-case and one-lower case character
• Last 4 digits of your phone number
• Your Electric Ireland NI account number
• Last 6 digits of your Meter Point Reference Number (MPRN)

Smartphone App

The Electric Ireland NI app is available from the Google Play and App Store for all pay as you go customers. This allows you to manage your account and top up from your mobile phone.

Meter Readings

Electric Ireland meter readings can be submitted online through the customer portal, or over the phone by calling customer service on 0345 600 5335.

Fuel Mix

All UK energy suppliers are required to report their fuel mix to the public in an effort to encourage the use of renewable energy.

Unlike in the rest of the UK, NI fuel mixes do not include electricity generated by nuclear power stations, as they are prohibited on the island.

So what does the Electric Ireland NI fuel mix look like? With 49.6% of its electricity coming from natural gas, this is the supplier’s largest energy source.

When it comes to green energy, sourcing 42% of its electricity from sustainable sources. Electric Ireland NI uses less than Ireland’s average of 54%, but more or less matches the average of UK energy suppliers.

*CO2 Emissions: 300 gCO2/kWh. Information taken from January 2019 to December 2019 period.

Smart Meters

Northern Ireland is a bit behind the rest of the UK in its rollout of smart meters, with the roll out only starting in 2019. From the end of 2019, Electric Ireland in the Republic of Ireland has started to replace normal meters with smart meters.

At present, there is no information regarding smart meters on the Electric Ireland UK website, so we assume this service is not yet available for Northern Irish customers.

Energy schemes and grants

1. Warm Home Discount

The Warm Home Discount is a UK Government scheme that deducts money from electricity bills during the colder winter months. Unfortunately, the Warm Home Discount is not available to households in Northern Ireland and is therefore not offered by Electric Ireland NI or any other supplier in the region.

2. Winter Fuel Payment

Unlike the Warm Home Discount, the Winter Fuel Payment (also known as the fuel allowance) is available to households in Northern Ireland. It is another government scheme designed to discount energy bills during the colder winter months.

At between £100 and £300, depending on your circumstances, the payment amount can be greater than the Warm Home Discount and recipients have reported fewer hoops to jump through in order to claim it.

The rules of who can apply and how are somewhat complex; if you’re interested in receiving the discount check out our comprehensive fuel allowance guide. Payments are compatible with the Household Benefits programme, so eligible households could benefit from both schemes.

Contact Electric Ireland NI

There are a number of different Electric Ireland NI contact methods available, including phone, email and social media. In the table below we have outlined some of the supplier’s main contact details.

For more information on how to contact the company, such as who to call in an emergency and how to place a complaint, visit our dedicated Electric Ireland NI contact page.

Moving house

If you’re moving into or out of an Electric Ireland UK household, be sure to let the supplier know by calling 0345 600 5335. Once on the line, you’ll be able to:

• Transfer your account to your new residence
• Close your current Electric Ireland NI account
• Switch your new home to an Electric Ireland electricity tariff