Some of Northern Ireland’s electricity customers will pay some of the lowest bills of all UK and Ireland regions after the largest electricity supplier announced a cut to its electricity prices from next month.
Power NI said it will reduce bills for its customers by 10% from 1 st November – an annual cut of some £97 for the average customer – in a move prompted by the energy price cap.
The cut, carried out as part of the Westminster government’s energy price guarantee scheme, comes despite a recent recommendation by the Utility Regulator that Power NI needed to increase tariffs by 60.5% from the same date as a result of soaring wholesale energy prices.
It will mean domestic electricity customers in Northern Ireland will pay an average of £847 a year, rather than the £1,517 they would have paid had prices been hiked. That is some 38% lower than the average bill in Great Britain of £1,369 and 48% below that in the Republic of £1,634.
“Our scrutiny of Power NI’s tariffs identified a need to increase their tariffs because of skyrocketing wholesale prices,” John French, Chief Executive of the Utility Regulator, said. “The increase also reflects the fact that the company has not changed its tariff since July 2022 and had built up a large under-recovery of revenue at a time of ongoing volatility in wholesale prices.
“However, this is the first regulated tariff review in the context of the UK Government’s EPG scheme. This scheme reduces the amount consumers will be charged per unit of gas or electricity for two years, effective from 1 November 2022. This significant support by the UK Government will mean that Power NI’s customers will actually see a reduction in their bills from 1 November 2022.
The energy price guarantee scheme has been in operation since the start of October in and will come into effect from 1 st November, William Steele, Director, Power NI Customer Solutions, said.
“We work hard to keep our prices as low as possible and in these challenging times, despite continued upward pressure on energy prices we have not increased our unit rate for residential customers since July 2022,” he said. “Although we now must substantially increase our underlying price to reflect the current market, the implementation of the EPG will mean our customers will see a reduction in their billed tariff level of 10%.”
Northern Ireland’s electricity consumers will also be able to avail of £400 under the Northern Ireland Energy Bill Support Scheme, which will help eligible households with their energy bills this winter. It will be administered through Power NI and other electricity suppliers, in partnership with the Utility Regulator and the UK Government.
