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Belfast Live
Belfast Live
National
Brendan Hughes

Prime Minister Liz Truss says £2,500 cap on energy bills will apply in Northern Ireland

Prime Minister Liz Truss has pledged that UK government plans to cap average household energy bills at £2,500 a year will apply in Northern Ireland.

Energy bills for the average household will be frozen at no more than £2,500 for two years under plans announced by Ms Truss in the House of Commons to tackle soaring costs.

Businesses and other non-domestic users such as schools and hospitals will be offered equivalent support under a separate scheme for at least six months, with support extended for the most vulnerable industries.

Read more: Prime Minister Liz Truss determined to restore 'balance' between Northern Ireland communities

The package will save the average household around £1,000 from October and protect billpayers from further expected rises over the coming months.

There has been continued uncertainty over how support will be delivered in Northern Ireland, which has a separate energy market and currently has no fully functioning devolved government at Stormont.

But Ms Truss offered assurances that the price freeze plans will extend to the region.

Responding to a question from DUP MP Sammy Wilson, the Prime Minister said: "I can assure him that this policy will apply in Northern Ireland and those benefits will be open to the people of Northern Ireland as part of the United Kingdom."

Ms Truss also said government support would include setting up a fund to help those who use home heating oil, which in Northern Ireland accounts for two-thirds of households.

It remains unclear how the scheme will be administered in Northern Ireland, but it is expected to require new legislation to be passed.

The measures for Great Britain will apply from October 1 but it is also unclear when support for Northern Ireland will commence.

The details of rolling out an earlier government pledge of a £400 energy bill discount, which households in Great Britain will begin receiving next month, have still not been finalised for Northern Ireland.

Stormont's Finance Minister expressed frustration at the lack of detail in the Prime Minister's statement on how the energy support will apply in Northern Ireland and said the funding "does not go far enough".

Conor Murphy said: "While the British Government has said the energy policy changes will apply here they have failed to outline what exactly that means.

"This will bring little comfort to individuals who are having to decide between heating and eating. Likewise, businesses trying to plan ahead for the winter months have no certainty as to when support will be forthcoming.

"The absence of a functioning Executive will require a work around. At a time of crisis for citizens, businesses and public services this is completely unacceptable. I am calling for urgent clarity on how energy support will be delivered locally."

Stormont has been in limbo for months after the DUP withdrew from power-sharing in protest over Brexit's Northern Ireland Protocol, which has angered unionists for introducing new Irish Sea trade checks.

In Great Britain the £2,500 "energy price guarantee" will see the Government limit the price suppliers can charge customers for units of gas, replacing the existing price cap set by regulator Ofgem.

Using tens of billions of extra borrowing, the Government will provide energy suppliers with the difference between the new, lower price and what they would charge were this not in place.

The Prime Minister told MPs: "This is the moment to be bold. We are facing a global energy crisis and there are no cost-free options."

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