Energy and utilities consultancy in Ireland and Northern Ireland

Energy and utilities consultancy in Ireland has rarely mattered more. Suppliers and utilities in Ireland and Northern Ireland are heading into a period of heavy system change, most of it landing between now and 2030 and much of it at the same time. We help them decide what to change and in what order, then deliver it without putting billing, customers or settlement at risk.

What is changing

• SAP IS U support ends. Paid extended support for SAP ECC, which IS U runs on, ends at the end of 2030, so every IS U user needs a route off it. See SAP IS U end of support.
• The central market system is moving. ESB Networks is migrating Ireland’s central retail market system to S/4HANA Utilities by the end of 2027 and upgrading the market messaging hub, with supplier impacts to follow.
• Smart and dynamic tariffs. More than two million smart meters are installed, and suppliers with over 200,000 customers have had to offer dynamic price contracts since October 2025. See smart meters in Ireland.
• Gas prepayment. Connected gas pay as you go meters roll out from 2027, and suppliers must run new prepayment billing and top up services alongside the old ones.
• EU market design. Energy sharing and multiple supply contracts per customer will need a new retail market design once the EU rules are written into Irish law.
• Northern Ireland smart meters. NIE Networks is planning Northern Ireland’s first smart meter rollout, and suppliers will need the data and billing capability to use it.
• The 2030 targets. 80% renewable electricity, and a grid being built to connect up to one million electric vehicles and 680,000 heat pumps. See Ireland’s 2030 energy targets.

The dates for each are in what energy suppliers must change before 2030, and how the Irish electricity market works explains who does what.

How we help

Platform decisions

An independent view on whether to move to S/4HANA Utilities, a SaaS billing platform or something else, built on your data, your operating model and your capacity to deliver rather than on a vendor’s pitch.

Procurement and contracts

Shaping the tender, evaluating bids on substance rather than presentation, and agreeing terms that still protect you when delivery gets difficult.

Data and migration

Customer, meter and billing data cleansing that starts before the platform choice, because poor data hurts under every option, and migration planning that keeps billing and settlement whole.

Market change readiness

Getting systems and processes ready for each change in turn: the interface work for ESB Networks’ move to S/4HANA, dynamic and smart tariffs, gas prepayment and the new market design.

Regulatory compliance

Turning CRU and Utility Regulator obligations into working systems, processes and evidence. See CRU and Utility Regulator compliance.

Programme assurance and recovery

Independent assurance on live programmes, and recovery when one has gone off track, with senior people on your side of the table.

Why PEF

We are independent of every software vendor, with no reseller agreements or commissions, so our advice follows your interests rather than a sales target. Our leadership has delivered on the client side of the decisions Irish suppliers now face: the first migration of a water utility onto the Kraken platform, software procurement through to implementation on a major network separation including a move to SAP S/4HANA, and delivery of the £9bn Energy Bills Support Scheme for the regulator and government in Great Britain. We have also handled the smart meter rollout for an Irish supplier entering the UK market.

Frequently asked questions

Do you work in both Ireland and Northern Ireland?

Yes. The two retail markets have different regulators, network operators and market systems, but they share one wholesale market and many of the same suppliers, and we work across both.

Do Irish suppliers have to replace their billing systems by 2030?

Not by law. Suppliers on SAP IS U must move off it before SAP’s extended support ends at the end of 2030. Others face a run of market changes that mean upgrades rather than replacement.

Can you help us choose between S/4HANA Utilities and a SaaS platform?

Yes. We are vendor independent and assess the options against your data, your operating model and the market changes ahead, before any vendor shapes the decision.

When should we bring you in?

Before you go to market. The most expensive problems in these programmes are set in the first few months: an untested business case, unclear requirements and data nobody has measured.