Advice has been issued to energy customers as government support is due to be reduced on Saturday.
There will be a reduction in support provided by the Energy Price Guarantee Scheme from July 1, which will see prices rise for customers across Northern Ireland.
The scheme was introduced in November 2022 and applies a discount to the unit rate of electricity and gas tariffs.
Read more: Cost of Living: Northern Ireland energy firms announce price cuts
Raymond Gormley, Head of Energy Policy at The Consumer Council, said: “Nearly all energy companies will change their tariffs on 1 July, so we recommend that consumers shop around to ensure they are on the most appropriate tariff to suit their needs.
"To support consumers with the switching process, the Consumer Council’s website has an independent energy price comparison tool to help them get the best deal.
"The main reason tariffs are changing is because the Government EPG Scheme, which had subsidised our bills over the winter and spring, has been reduced to zero.
"This is unfortunate given prices remain around double the pre-pandemic norm. However, the scheme will remain in place until April 2024 and the Government will review whether it is needed every three months until then.
"So, if energy prices increase significantly in the winter, the Consumer Council will make the argument to Government that they should reinstate a subsidy.”
As the cost of wholesale energy has reduced, so too is the level of support provided by government. This meant there was a lower level of discount applied to all electricity and gas bills from 1 January 2023 and it was reduced again in April 2023.
From 1 July 2023, further changes are being made to the discount provided; it is being reduced to zero and this will impact all electricity and gas tariffs.
Electricity tariff changes:
- Standard tariff customers of electricity suppliers who did not change their underlying tariffs, SSE Airtricity, Electric Ireland and Budget Energy, will see their average bills rise by around £127 per year.
- Customers of the regulated supplier, Power NI, who announced a 7.1% decrease in their standard tariff, will see a typical bill increase by around £49.
- Click Energy has announced it will reduce their standard tariff by 10.36% and reduce their other underlying tariffs to counteract the impact of the Government support scheme. This means that Click Energy Customers will see no increase in their typical yearly bills.
Gas tariff changes:
- SSE Airtricity announced a decrease of 12.2% effective from 1 July 2023, however, with the EPG discount rate being reduced to zero, also in July, typical SSE customers will actually see their gas bills increase by around £134 a year.
- firmus energy customers will see their bills increase by around £328 in both the Ten Towns gas network and the Greater Belfast gas network areas.
“We urge anyone who is struggling to pay their energy bills or top-up their meters to contact their supplier without delay,” said Raymond.
“We also encourage consumers to think about ways they can reduce their energy costs through energy efficiency and, if possible, try to budget over the summer months to help cover energy costs during the coming winter.”
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