THE north’s biggest electricity provider Power NI will increase its prices by 21.4 per cent on January 1, adding £131 a year onto the bill of the average customer.
It’s the supplier’s biggest increase since 2008 and will take the average household power bill to around £741 per year.
Power NI last increased its prices by 6.9 per cent on July 1.
The Utility Regulator, John French, said a surge in the cost of gas, coal and oil has been compounded by one of the least windy summers since 1961.
The cost of fossil fuels has soared on global markets in the past 12 months, while generation from the traditionally cheaper wind power, has been very low.
Power generation from wind dropped by 62 per cent in July 2021.
“Since the wholesale cost of electricity makes up over 60 per cent of a domestic customer’s bill, these sharp increases impact heavily on Power NI’s tariff,” said Mr French.
The four-fold rise in wholesale natural gas since last year has also had a severe impact on domestic gas prices. Wholesale costs make up around half of domestic gas bills.
Some 57,000 domestic customers on Firmus Energy’s Ten Towns network will see their prices go up by 38.2 per cent on December 3, equivalent to around £267 per year.
Similar hikes are expected to be announced for the Greater Belfast network.
John French said that at £741 per year, the average Power NI customer is still paying six per cent less than domestic consumers in GB and 16 per cent less than in the Republic.
Raymond Gormley from the Consumer Council said Power NI customers on a standard tariff should think about switching payment option or changing billing method.
“Consumers could save around £60 per year by benefiting from discounts offered by the supplier,” he said.
The Consumer Council said household can also be proactive in switching off electronics and switching to LED bulbs to save.
William Steele from Power NI said: “We work very hard to keep our prices as low as possible, but regrettably there has been a rapid and sustained increase in wholesale gas prices over recent months.
“Like other suppliers, we have no choice but to pay these increased costs, which feed into the cost of wholesale electricity and have a knock-on effect on our tariffs.”
