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A view of Meta's data center in Clonee, Co Meath. Alamy Stock Photo

Meta paying back sizeable electricity bill after ESB error saw firm undercharged for 18 months

FOI records detail how two new transformers that were installed at Meta’s data centre site in Clonee, Co Meath were never properly set up for billing.

SOCIAL MEDIA GIANT Meta is in the process of paying back a sizable underpaid electricity bill after power usage was recorded incorrectly at one of its data centres for a period of eighteen months.

The Facebook and Instagram parent company had contacted Eirgrid in relation to what they believed was a “possible underbilling” with the discrepancy escalated to ESB Networks to investigate why their bill was so low.

FOI records detail how two new transformers that were installed at Meta’s data centre site in Clonee, Co Meath were never properly set up for billing. The data centre has electricity consumption equivalent to 150,000 homes.

A preliminary report from ESB Networks said: “Registration of the additional metering is a manual process that relies on data being communicated from on-site personnel to Profile Data Services (PDS).

“In this instance, an error was made and communication to PDS did not take place which meant that these new transformers were energised without the meters being registered and hence relevant consumption data from these meters was not issued to the supplier.”

The report was forwarded to energy and water regulator, the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, with a reassurance that the underbilling of Meta was likely to be a one-off.

In an email, a manager in ESB Networks said they wanted to “apologise” for the incident and said new procedures had been put in place to help ensure something similar did not happen again.

ESB Networks also reported they had carried out a wider investigation and said to date there was nothing to suggest the undercharging had been a “systemic” problem.

Their preliminary report said: “A thorough review of all sites is underway, estimated time to complete this review is mid-June.”

ESB Networks also said one of their technicians had visited the site to ensure correct meter details had now been entered into their central databases and to calculate how much power was involved.

“Consumption readings were recovered off the meter directly,” said the report, “allowing [us] to profile consumption back to August 2021. All data has been provided to the energy supplier for recalculation.”

In other emails, ESB Networks expressed concern about suggestions that the Meta undercharge would have to be written off or could not be collected.

A message said: “While we issued re-settlement files to market participants [in April] in accordance with electricity market processes, to facilitate retrospective billing by the supplier, we haven’t responded [to these reports] … with any clarification.”

Asked about the undercharging and the repayment of underpaid bills by Facebook, a spokesman said: “ESB Networks does not comment on specifics in relation to the electricity consumption of individual customers.

“In general, should a discrepancy in historic data occur for a particular customer, then agreed electricity market processes are invoked to address the matter and to ensure that customers can be billed for their actual consumption.

“With regard to the undercharge issue in the records you reference, we can confirm that this process is well underway and the undercharge is being progressed through electricity market processes.”

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    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Mazza86
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    Sep 6th 2019, 1:36 PM

    South Africa is taking a similar path…

    161
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    Mute ➕The Gray➕
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    Sep 6th 2019, 2:16 PM

    @Mazza86: is? Already happening, riots on the streets a couple of weeks back.

    57
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    Mute ➕The Gray➕
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    Sep 6th 2019, 2:19 PM

    Will our leftist president send his condolences I wonder.

    102
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    Mute Terry McClatchey
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    Sep 6th 2019, 1:40 PM

    At that time, Mugabe was seen as similar to Nelson Mandela. Their paths diverged later.

    70
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    Mute The long walk home☘️
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    Sep 6th 2019, 2:12 PM

    @Terry McClatchey: in the 80′s Charlie Haughey was regarded as a respected statesman and Thatcher had among her pals Pinochet.

    73
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    Mute CBD HeavenSent
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    Sep 6th 2019, 1:30 PM

    The Blueshirts still fall over themselves when their British royalty steps foot on our nation. Watching the likes of Bruton and Kenny creaming themselves is truly sickening.

    104
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    Mute Clifford Brennan
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    Sep 6th 2019, 1:37 PM

    @CBD HeavenSent: Yes, normalising relations between our two countries is sickening. When McGuinness shook hands with the British Queen, and Adams shook hands with Prince Charles I’d say you must have fainted. Poor lad.

    165
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    Mute The Great Unwashed
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    Sep 6th 2019, 1:40 PM

    @CBD HeavenSent:
    Is that what you took from this story??

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    Mute CBD HeavenSent
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    Sep 6th 2019, 1:49 PM

    @Clifford Brennan: Those meetings were meaningful acts that built bridges and showed that the Brits had finally realised that the Oirish were their equals and should be finally treated as such.

    John Brutons meeting the royals “the greatest day of my life” was nothing more than a cap doffing kowtowing of a loyal West Brit subject to his superior. If he had royal ascent to kiss their arse I have no doubt he would have done it also.

    38
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    Mute The Great Unwashed
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    Sep 6th 2019, 2:11 PM

    @CBD HeavenSent:
    Sorry to be the one to break it to you but he didn’t actually say that – it’s an urban myth:
    https://www.independent.ie/opinion/comment/irishness-means-more-than-hating-england-37092068.html

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    Mute Clifford Brennan
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    Sep 6th 2019, 2:22 PM

    @CBD HeavenSent: Your first mistake is thinking that McGuinness/Adams represented the Irish nation. They didn’t. Those handshakes represented the concluding act of the so called war. Not sure why you’ve (deliberately?) quoted a line Bruton never actually said, either. Maybe you need a lie down. :)

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    Mute Chin Feeyin
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    Sep 6th 2019, 2:28 PM

    @Clifford Brennan: “not sure why you’ve quoted a line Bruton never actually said”

    He probably saw it on Facebook!!

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    Mute Tommy Roche
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    Sep 6th 2019, 3:26 PM

    @The Great Unwashed: Now that you have set him straight, will CBD now, A. Admit his error. Or B. Completely ignore you and continue to spread that particular myth. Tough one to call, but I’m gonna guess A.

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    Mute The Great Unwashed
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    Sep 6th 2019, 4:33 PM

    @Tommy Roche:
    Don’t be putting any money it, that’s all I’ll say…
    ;-)

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    Mute John Hanrahan
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    Sep 7th 2019, 7:47 AM

    @CBD HeavenSent: You’re an idiot. Has nothing to do with the Blue Shirts. Stay on the subject.

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    Mute Des Hanrahan
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    Sep 6th 2019, 2:01 PM

    Mugabe turned out to be corrupt and a thug in the end. However, there us one point about the land seizures that doesn’t get mentioned. Under the agreement that ended the war there, White farmers were to give up their lands and be compensated by the British and Zimbabwean governments (on a 50/50 basis) after 20 years. When the time came to impliment this the British /Tony Blair renaged on their side of the agreement. So Zimbabwe sized the land without compensation in retaliation.

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    Mute The Great Unwashed
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    Sep 6th 2019, 2:23 PM

    @Des Hanrahan:
    Partially true, but the agreement only applied by consent, ie. subsidies would be made available where farmers willingly wanted to sell their land – no farmer was under any obligation to sell up.

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    Mute The Great Unwashed
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    Sep 6th 2019, 2:45 PM

    @Des Hanrahan:
    Plenty of money was actually paid over – Blair only pulled the plug on the scheme when the allocated pot ran dry in the late 90s.

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    Mute Willy
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    Sep 6th 2019, 1:43 PM

    It’s a blue shirt thing…

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    Mute Damon16
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    Sep 6th 2019, 1:56 PM

    @Willy: you do know that from the beginning Mugabe was a marxist in the Castro mould. He was praised by socialists everywhere. As usual it all ended in tears. And until very recently there were many a western comrade willing to write glowing articles about Mugabe and his legacy in the pages of hip marxist magazines.

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    Mute Chin Feeyin
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    Sep 6th 2019, 2:07 PM

    @Willy: Mugabe was a Marxist like your crowd.

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    Mute Greedylocks
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    Sep 6th 2019, 2:08 PM

    @Willy: devalera sent his condolences to the germans on the dimise off one Adolf Hitler on behalf of the Irish people. Ffg are one and same.

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    Mute thephantomshit
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    Sep 6th 2019, 1:35 PM

    Impressive chap but he was no Idid Amin. Now there was a guest worth having over for dinner!

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    Mute The Great Unwashed
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    Sep 6th 2019, 1:42 PM

    @thephantomshit:
    Not that different – birds of a feather.

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    Mute Juan Fangio
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    Sep 6th 2019, 1:59 PM

    @thephantomshit: Over for dinner, but keep the kids out of sight.

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    Mute DaMoons
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    Sep 6th 2019, 3:42 PM

    @The Great Unwashed: Agreed, both put in place by the Brits.

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    Mute The Great Unwashed
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    Sep 6th 2019, 4:40 PM

    @DaMoons:
    Wrong on both counts, but hey, why let small details like facts get in the way of a good rant eh?

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    Mute J. Reid
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    Sep 6th 2019, 2:33 PM

    This says it all about Garrett FitzGerald’s judgement, or lack thereof.

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    Mute Chin Feeyin
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    Sep 6th 2019, 3:53 PM

    @J. Reid: well, you wouldn’t remember this, but Mugabe managed to fool a lot of people into believing he was the real deal.

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    Mute Michael Walsh
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    Sep 6th 2019, 7:58 PM

    @Chin Feeyin: a lot of people fooled Garrett Fitzgerald

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    Mute Paula Mackie Senior
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    Sep 6th 2019, 5:43 PM

    Good riddance! He destroyed the *breadbasket of Africa * by greed. Anyone check his Swiss bank accounts?

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    Mute Cormac Ó Braonáin
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    Sep 7th 2019, 7:22 AM

    @Paula Mackie Senior: breadbasket of Africa? For the white minority in power. The same way Ireland was the breadbasket of the British empire in the 1840s.

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    Mute Tom Bombdadil
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    Sep 6th 2019, 3:25 PM

    We have a long history of supporting clowns, Haughey, Bertie, Cowan, Kenny.

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    Mute Neville Bartos
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    Sep 6th 2019, 4:24 PM

    Wonder if we will see a similar article in 20 years time about Mahmoud Abbas

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    Mute Desmond Lyons
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    Sep 6th 2019, 3:56 PM

    That goes to show just how thick Brian Lenihan was!

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    Mute Michael Walsh
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    Sep 6th 2019, 7:59 PM

    @Desmond Lyons: He was far from thick

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    Mute Garreth Byrne
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    Sep 6th 2019, 9:34 PM

    One Irish politician/former politician, Conor Cruise O’Brien, was not impressed in the late 1970s by Robert Mugabe. After a British television discussion in 1979 Mugabe privately told O’Brien that he was not a friend of the struggle against colonialism and O’Brien replied that after colonialism it was important for African nationalists to abide by democratic politics. We now know – we knew in the early 1980s – that Mugabe instigated the police murders of thousands of anti-government people in Matabeleland.

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    Mute Aaron Jones
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    Sep 6th 2019, 3:10 PM

    Yeah but he was a dictator that fooled everyone to assert control over he own country and people.

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    Mute Gordon Walsh
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    Sep 6th 2019, 1:54 PM

    The white farmers bred Rhodeshian Ridgebacks to dislike/attack dark skinned people – guess it wasn’t enough to stop the “land reforms’

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    Mute John Walsh
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    Sep 6th 2019, 5:14 PM

    “One man’s freedom fighter is another man’s terrorist ”
    Springs to mind

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    Mute Cormac Ó Braonáin
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    Sep 7th 2019, 7:26 AM

    @John Walsh: the founder of Zimbabwe and a hero to his people. Single-handedly irradicated the apartheid, imperialist system the Brits had implemented. Unfortunately our media comes from the West.

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    Mute Mike Conway
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    Sep 6th 2019, 3:51 PM

    Acceptable in the 2010s: Ireland once regarded Trump as a respected statesman and honoured guest

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    Mute paul kelly
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    Sep 6th 2019, 9:06 PM

    We are very lucky the Brits paid for land redistribution, pity they did not do the same in Rhodesia/ZImbabwe

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    Mute The Great Unwashed
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    Sep 7th 2019, 12:16 AM

    @paul kelly:
    They did for almost 20 years following Zimbabwe’s independence.

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    Mute Fergal Pigat
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    Sep 6th 2019, 3:31 PM

    Rot in Hell

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    Mute TamuMassif2019
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    Sep 7th 2019, 12:51 PM

    Under a FG government at the time???

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