UTILITY firm SSE Airtricity is to cut is gas prices in Belfast by 10 per cent from next month.
It follows an 8 per cent price reduction in April, and according to the company will save a typical household customer an additional £58 a year.
SSE Airtricity, the north’s largest provider of natural gas, says the cut will apply to all of its 125,000 home and small business customers, or 72 per cent of the natural gas market in the greater Belfast area.
The move follows the half-yearly review by the company of the supply and operating costs of its regulated natural gas business, which is conducted at this time every year in consultation with the Utility Regulator.
SSE says the cut is as a result of a further reduction in the wholesale cost of gas over the last six months as well as a redistribution of costs to customers previously recovered under the regular price control review process.
The company's managing director Stephen Wheeler said: “I’m pleased that once again we’re announcing a further cut of 10 per cent to our natural gas prices, saving our household customers with typical usage £58 in their annual natural gas costs.
"The reduction follows the previous 8 per cent cut we made to our natural gas prices in April. This means we’re continuing to deliver on our promise to make a real difference for our customers and in the last year we’ve delivered annual savings of over £100 to our gas customers.”
Utility Regulator chief executive Jenny Pyper said: "The lower bills will benefit households and businesses as we enter the winter months. This means that standard gas tariffs in the greater Belfast area continue to be among the lowest in the UK or Ireland.
"The main reason for the decrease is falling wholesale gas costs. As we regulate SSE Airtricity's prices, our tariff review involves a thorough analysis of all their cost elements. SSE customers can be confident that, due to our regulation, their bills reflect the actual costs of supplying gas to their homes and businesses.
“As always, we will continue to monitor wholesale gas costs in relation to SSE's regulated prices.”
The Consumer Council has also welcomed the tariff reduction.
Its head of energy Richard Williams said “The cost of energy remains the top concern for consumers so we welcome the news that SSE Airtricity are reflecting the sustained fall in the wholesale cost of gas and reducing their greater Belfast gas tariff by 10 per cent.
"Overall, this will see the average household’s annual SSE Airtricity gas bill fall by £58 - typically from £576 a year to £518.
He added “Households in Belfast can choose between two natural gas suppliers, SSE Airtricity and Firmus Energy, and we would therefore encourage all customers to check if they are getting the best possible deal and whether they can make savings by switching their supplier."
