Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
SHOCKING PRICE OF POWER..
Users hit by 27.5% increase
AN electricity provider has been slammed for a further 27.5% price increase.
Power NI has announced its latest rise will take effect from July 1 and will be equivalent to £3.92 a week more to a typical household electricity bill in Northern Ireland.
The energy provider has said the change is “entirely due to the sustained unparalleled price increases in the wholesale energy markets, which have been impacted by ongoing global issues”.
This is Power NI’S second tariff increase this year and its biggest since October 2008.
Raymond Gormley, Head of Energy Policy at the Consumer Council said: “It will impact more than half of Northern Ireland’s households.
“While consumers get that price increases are happening due to global reasons, that knowledge does not help when it comes to paying their bills.
“With 53% of prepayment electricity consumers telling us they have had to cut back on food purchases to be able to afford a top up, many households are going to need significant financial support in the coming winter.
“We urge anyone who is struggling to pay their energy bills or to top-up their meter, to contact their supplier directly for help and support.
“In the longer term, this situation shows the importance of the Department for the Economy’s Energy
Strategy Action Plan, that aims to tackle affordability and move Northern Ireland away from its dependence on fossil fuels.”
As a regulated supplier for domestic customers, Power NI, which is the region’s largest supplier, has to engage with the regulator to secure approval for price rises.
The provider has said they have held off making this tariff change for “as long as possible”.
William Steele, Director of Consumer Solutions at Power NI said they have had no choice but to increase their costs in response to global events.
He said: “We work hard to keep our prices as low as possible and have absorbed costs for as long as we can. “Like other suppliers we have no choice but to pay these increased costs, which feed into the price of wholesale electricity and have a knock-on effect on tariffs.
“In these challenging times and with such a volatile market, we held off making this change for as long as possible, with this price change not coming into effect until July 2022.
“As soon as we see an opportunity to reduce prices, we will do so without delay.”