Energy bills: Power NI customers face electricity price increase

Power NI customers will face a 14% increase in electricity prices from 1 April.

The company is Northern Ireland's largest electricity supplier.

It is actually reducing its tariffs by 16.2%, but that has been offset by a reduction in government support to customers.

That support was through the Energy Price Guarantee (EPG), which protects customers from price rises by limiting the amount suppliers can charge.

The government said that means a typical Northern Ireland household using electricity and mains gas will see their energy bill increase from the equivalent of £1,952 a year to £2,109.

On Wednesday, the Chancellor announced that in Great Britain the EPG will be extended for three months at its current level keeping a typical household bill at the equivalent of £2,500 a year.

However, in Northern Ireland the EPG will become less generous from the end of March.

This is because the scheme was originally introduced later in Northern Ireland than in Great Britain, so Northern Ireland customers got an additional backdated discount.

That extra support will be withdrawn at the end of March.

William Steele, director of customer solutions at Power NI, said any customers worried about paying bills should contact the company directly.

Mr Steele said Power NI would "ensure the most vulnerable in our society and those who are struggling get the help they need".

Peter McClenaghan, of the Consumer Council, said it was likely the other four unregulated electricity suppliers in Northern Ireland will also increase their prices.

"Consumers should consider reviewing their tariff in the coming months to ensure they are on the best deal for their needs, as money can be saved by switching supplier, tariff, or billing method," he said.

One of Northern Ireland's smaller electricity suppliers, Click Energy, has also contacted customers to say prices will be increasing as a result of the EPG change.

Click says its underlying tariff rates have not changed and the increase is solely to do with the EPG.

Electric Ireland has announced a rise in energy bills too due to the reduction of government support.

Its customers' weekly bills will rise from an average of £20.35 to £24.02.

Budget Energy announced it will be reducing its tariffs by 19% for prepay and bill-pay domestic customers from 1 April due to a decrease in wholesale energy costs

However, their prices will also likely be going up because of the change to EPG, although it's not yet clear by how much.

The company is one of the largest energy providers in Northern Ireland with about 96,000 customers.

The new rate means prepay customers will save about £324 a year including VAT.

Budget Energy said it will be communicating with customers in writing over the coming days what a reduction in the EPG change will mean for them.

General manager Sean O'Loughlin said the rate reduction should offset the majority of household bills increases following the reduction of government support.

"We hope that this is the first step in returning household electricity prices to more affordable levels for our customers," he said.

Meanwhile, SSE Airtricity domestic gas bills in Greater Belfast are expected to rise almost 15% from the start of April due to the cut in the EPG subsidy.