Ofgem Price Cap Does Not Apply To NI – Consumer Council

The Consumer Council has issued a reminder that the Ofgem price cap due to be announced today, Thursday 25 May, will not apply to Northern Ireland.

The price cap does not apply as NI has a separate energy market to the rest of the UK.

Highlighting what consumers in NI can expect in the coming months, Consumer Council Director of Infrastructure and Sustainability, Peter McClenaghan said: "The Ofgem cap being announced today does not apply in Northern Ireland as we have separate electricity and gas markets overseen by our Utility Regulator.

"Instead of a price cap we have a tariff review process. This requires the largest supplier in each network area to show the Utility Regulator, the Consumer Council, and the Department for the Economy that they are setting fair prices based on the price of wholesale energy. This tariff then acts as a price to beat for other suppliers.

"The Northern Ireland regime has distinct benefits which include clarity for consumers as to the profit margin suppliers are permitted; 2% for regulated gas suppliers and 2.2% for Power NI.

"It has also meant that prices have been lower in Northern Ireland than in Great Britain for much of the last year."

Looking to the future, Peter continued: "The regulated tariffs of Power NI and SSE Airtricity Gas (Greater Belfast area) are currently under review and price changes are expected to be announced in the next few weeks. After the price announcements are made we encourage consumers to visit our free online Energy Price Comparison Tool to check that they are on the best tariff for their needs.

"The Consumer Council is engaging with Government and stakeholders about help for Northern Ireland consumers next winter because we know prices will remain higher than average and many consumers are struggling to pay their bills."