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Click Energy is latest to impose electric bill increase

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CLICK Energy is the latest utility in the north to hike bills, with tariffs set to increase by 9 per cent from September 1.

It will see the typical customer paying an extra £55 a year for their electricity, while those with a keypad meter will see a yearly increase of about £56.

Click Energy, which only entered the electricity market six years ago and is one of the region's smallest players, said the increase is due to the continuing rise of wholesale energy costs.

It has 35,000 domestic customers in Northern Ireland, of which the vast majority (around 31,000) are currently on pre-payment meters.

Click's larger rivals have also imposed increases of their own over the last quarter.

Power NI (450,000 customers) levied a 6.9 per cent increase, SSE Airtricity (170,000 customers) hiked bills by 9.7 per cent and Electric Ireland (99,000 customers) had the biggest rise at 10.2 per cent.

Raymond Gormley, head of energy policy at the Consumer Council, described Click's decision as “unwelcome news”.

He said: “It comes at a time when many are already experiencing increasing pressures on their household budget.

“Any consumers who are experiencing financial difficulty and are struggling with their energy bills should contact Click Energy to find out how they can help during this time.”

Raymond added: “We would encourage all consumers to shop around to ensure they are on the best energy deal. Click Energy have stated that there will be no exit fee applied to customers who switch supplier before September 1.

“Our website (www.consumercouncil.org.uk) has a free independent price comparison tool looking at all electricity and gas tariffs in Northern Ireland, and in the last year more than 72,000 consumers have used this to get the best deal.”