More pain as electricity and gas price hikes take effect
A price rise of 37% for Firmus gas customers in Belfast kicked in on Tuesday, along with a 16.31% price rise in the ‘Ten Towns’ network in more western areas of Northern Ireland.
Together, the price increases will impact over 100,000 customers.
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Hide AdThe Belfast price rise was announced by Firmus Energy last month, and the Ten Towns hike was announced in March.
The Northern Ireland Consumer Council estimates the increase in Belfast will add around £330 per year to a typical gas bill for those with a credit meter, and around £325 per year for those with a ‘pay-as-you-go’ prepayment gas meter.
In the Ten Towns area, the price hike will add around £211 per year to a typical household bill for those with a credit meter to bring the annual price to around £1,504. For those with a prepayment gas meter, the hike amounts to an extra £201 per year, to an average of £1,432, according to the Consumer Council.
The price increases are the latest in a series of drastic energy cost rises.
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Hide AdIn March and April, several electricity providers announced severe price rises.
Electric Ireland, the third largest supplier in the Northern Ireland market, announced a 30% rise in its tariffs that came into effect on May Day.
Just last week, another two suppliers announced electricity price increases — SSE and Budget Energy.
Budget will hike its prices by more than a quarter — 27% — from May 27, while SSE Airtricity will increase its prices by a third — 33% from the beginning of next month.
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Hide AdAnd adding to the pain for consumers are the consistently sky-high home heating oil and vehicle fuel costs, which have undergone only slight decreases since a peak in March.
The average cost of 300 litres of home heating oil in Northern Ireland, according to the latest weekly price checker figures published by the Northern Ireland Consumer Council, is £273.21.
The average cost of a litre of petrol in Northern Ireland, meanwhile, is 161paccording to the latest figures.
For diesel, the average price in Northern Ireland is 173.4p.
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Hide AdEnergy prices have increased dramatically across the world following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Russia is the world’s leading supplier of natural gas, and one of the world’s leading suppliers of oil. Ukraine, meanwhile, is a key route for gas transport.