Energy price cap: Northern Ireland businesses still in the dark on government subsidy plans, warns trade body

Retail NI chief executive Glyn Roberts, speaking to the News Letter from the Tory party conference yesterday, said the lack of detail so far is “just unacceptable”.

This comes after a series of huge price hikes came into effect in Northern Ireland over the weekend and yesterday, with a government subsidy scheme for household costs due to come into operation from next month.

The government has pledged, however, that the subsidy will be backdated to cover this month’s bills in Northern Ireland.

Firmus energy customers in both the Greater Belfast and the Ten Towns network areas are now paying an extra 56.3% for gas, while SSE customers are paying another 28.3%.

For electricity Click Energy hiked their prices by 28.2%, SSE by 35.4%, and Electric Ireland by 29%.

Power NI has said it does not intend to raise prices this month, while Budget Energy has said its prices will go up by 32% on Friday.

The UK Government has announced its energy price cap plans for Northern Ireland does apply this month, although the discounts will

This will see limits placed on the rates ordinary household customers can expect to pay per unit of electricity and gas, with any surplus charge to be paid to the companies by the public purse.

It should limit energy spending for the average electricity and gas customer to around £2,500 but will depend on consumption.

Mr Roberts, however, said businesses on this side of the Irish sea are still awaiting the detail and even the timeline for a similar scheme that has already come into operation in Great Britain.

The Energy Bill Relief scheme came into effect in England, Scotland and Wales at the weekend, with discounts to be applied automatically until March 31.

The government has promised similar support for Northern Ireland firms, but Mr Roberts said: “At this stage we don’t have any clarity. As a trade body, we haven’t received any communication from government about timelines or how, in detail, how this will work. That is just unacceptable. “

He continued: “We are in an even more serious situation now because we have a mortgage crisis as well. That means families will have even less disposable income, which will have its impact on hospitality and retail — of that there’s no doubt. It’s an even more acute situation now, so we do need to get all of this tied down.

“It’s one of the reasons I’m at the Conservative Party conference, where I’m meeting ministers and engaging with MPs on this subject.”

He added: “We’re also pressing to get the business rates holiday reintroduced because I think that could certainly provide direct support to many of our members who are struggling.

“Cashflow is getting to be an even more acute situation. It is very hard. If you are going to have big jumps in your energy bill, how do you budget for something like that. It adds uncertainty on to uncertainty. It’s not just a cost of living crisis, it’s a cost of doing business crisis.”