Two other suppliers follow PowerNI and hike electricity price

TWO major electricity providers have increased prices for customers in Northern Ireland.

SSE Airtricity, which is the second largest provider of electricity here, has increased its prices by 6.9%, pushing bills up by an average of £39 a year.

The company — which supplies 170,344 households in Northern Ireland — said yesterday that increased external costs outside of its control were the main cause of this price change.

The rise, which will cost on average 75p a week, will come into force on October 1.

The firm added that rising costs associated with using the electricity network and market charges affect all suppliers and energy prices.

Meanwhile, Electric Ireland — which is the third largest supplier in the marketplace with more than 98,000 customers — also announced yesterday it will increase residential electricity prices by 8% from October.

The company said this was due primarily to increases in external network and market operation costs and equates to around 12p per day based on the average user.

The announcements come two weeks after PowerNI said its prices will increase by 6.1%, with the average bill going up by 67p a week.

David Manning, director of home energy at SSE Airtricity, said they were “disappointed” to have to announce the increase.

“While there have been reductions in wholesale energy costs, these have been negated by external cost increases applied to all energy suppliers,” he explained.

“As always, we will do everything we can to ensure we consistently deliver value to our customers in their electricity supply.”

Clare McAllister, who’s Northern Ireland residential manager at Electric Ireland, said the decision was “not taken lightly”, adding the company is committed to “keeping prices as low as possible”.

The Consumer Council’s Paulino Garcia said that customers have been left confused by the price hikes given the wholesale gas market has “fallen by 49% over the last year”.

He said: “It is important that consumers in Northern Ireland know that they are being treated fairly.

“We will be seeking assurances from both SSE Airtricity and Electric Ireland that their latest increases are fair and justified.”

❝ It is important that consumers in Northern Ireland know that they are being treated fairly