Gas price reduction: Wholesale energy price drops 'must be passed on' to consumers 'straight away', says Steve Aiken

Firmus energy announced its first price reductions in over two years on Tuesday, with prices dropping by just over 20% for customers connected to the ‘Ten Towns’ network and by just over 17% for those hooked up to the network in Greater Belfast.

The Utility Regulator said “recent and sustained falls in wholesale costs” had made the reduction possible.

Mr Aiken, speaking to the News Letter on Tuesday, urged other companies to follow suit.

He also suggested a fall in wholesale gas prices “should” lead to lower electricity bills but stressed that there is a “complex equation” that goes into the setting of prices.

“If there’s been reductions in the wholesale market, those reductions should be passed on straight away to the consumer,” the former UUP leader said.

“It’s beholden on all the energy companies to pass on those reductions as rapidly as possible because we are all in this together, and energy companies should not be using an opportunity to make excess profits.

“The reality, however, is that the war in Ukraine has a long way to go. But the important thing is that any reductions in the wholesale market are passed on to the consumer.”

He continued: “The Utility Regulator, in my experience, under the leadership of [chief executive] John French, has been very good at making sure that does happen. He has been very reactive to changes in market prices. He is not in the pockets of the energy companies.”

Mr Aiken added: “There should be a reduction in electricity prices because it’s tied to the futures market in gas, even though depending on weather conditions a lot of our electricity will come from renewables. You would expect a reduction in wholesale gas prices to have an impact on electricity prices, on driving it downwards. However, a lot of gas will be bought on the futures market which has been hedged, which means that it might have been already contracted in for a higher price than it is at the moment. It’s a complex equation, but a downward pressure on prices should be reflected in energy costs to the consumer.”