Local electric and gas bills to come down

By John Carney

RECENT energy bill cuts will soon see gas and electric prices come down across the North.

Consumers in Fermanagh will be starting to see a reduction in costs from this month, but energy prices remain higher than before the Covid-19 pandemic.

From 1 April, Northern Ireland’s largest electricity supplier Power NI is cutting its prices by 6.3 per cent, a move that will save the average household £63 per year, the BBC reported.

The company serves 500,000 household customers and cut its prices three times during 2023.

Last month, the second largest supplier SSE Airtricity cut its price for Northern Ireland customers by 6.3 per cent. The move affected about 141,000 homes, saving the typical household about £74 a year.

Budget Energy also cut its electricity prices by 9 per cent in March. The company, which has about 80,000 customers across Northern Ireland. This would mean a saving of around £110 a year for household customers.

According to the Utility Regulator, these latest price cuts here will mean a typical annual electricity bill at Power NI is £951, which is cheaper than both in the UK and the Republic of Ireland.

Wholesale natural gas prices have also fallen sharply since they peaked after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

SSE Airtricity, Northern Ireland’s largest provider of natural gas, will cut its prices by 22.8 per cent from April.

The company says it will save a typical household customer £320.47 per year.

Firmus Energy has also announced it will cut its prices by 15.6 per cent from April. This move means household customers will save on average around £220.82 per year.

Utility Regulator revealed that now a typical annual gas bill of £1,079 for SSE Airtricity and £1,151 for Firmus energy is more expensive than the average bill in the UK (£891), but less expensive than the Republic of Ireland (£1,359).