Hundreds of thousands of households across Northern Ireland are to see a price hike in electricity costs it has been revealed.
Power NI, Northern Ireland’s largest electricity retailer, are raising their residential electricity prices by 5.6% in their first price increase for four years.
Currently supplying approximately 70% of the domestic market, and 49% of the commercial market, the increase will affect almost 500,000 households across Northern Ireland, making the average electricity bill increase by £27 per year. In addition, almost 34,000 farms and businesses will see an increase of 6%.
The increase, set to come into effect on October 1, is partially due to the increase in costs for gas and coal, both used to generate electricity in Northern Ireland.
The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) said the price increase was “disappointing and unwelcome”.
FSB Policy Chairman Wilfred Mitchell added: “It adds a further adverse burden to what are already some of the highest operating costs faced by SMEs, at a time of increasing uncertainty.
“Rising costs are already having to be absorbed by business owners, making it increasingly difficult for them to invest, expand, and create jobs; this price hike will undoubtedly have a negative impact on economic growth.”
The Utility Regulator has deemed the price rise “unavoidable”.
“Agreeing an increase to Power NI’s domestic electricity tariff is not a decision that we take lightly” explained Chief Executive, Jenny Pyper, adding: “We carry out extensive scrutiny of Power NI’s costs to ensure that any change to their tariff is justified. Domestic electricity prices in Northern Ireland have not increased in four years, but unfortunately, due to rises in wholesale energy costs, this increase is unavoidable.
“Northern Ireland consumers have a choice of five domestic electricity suppliers, and I would encourage them to shop around and explore the options available.”