The north’s largest electricity supplier Power NI has confirmed its tariff will increase by 6.2% from July 1 due to the rising cost of wholesale energy on the back of the continuing crisis in the Middle East.
It’s expected to add around £64 to the annual bill for the average household.
Power NI supplies 521,333 domestic customers in Northern Ireland.
Firmus Energy has also announced a 15.65% increase for around 75,756 customers on the Ten Towns network from the start of next month.
Firmus, which cut its tariff by 10.1% in April, is the sole domestic supplier on the network, which runs from Derry, across to the north Antrim coast and down through Armagh and Newry.
It’s expected to add around £132 per year to the average household bill.
Power NI and Firmus Energy’s Ten Towns network are two of the north’s three regulated energy suppliers.
The third, SSE Airtricity’s gas supply operation in Greater Belfast, is expected to be reviewed in August, ahead of a potential price increase in October.
Both Power NI and Firmus Energy said they have held off price increases for as long as possible.
Power NI described the increase as“unavoidable” due to the rising cost of wholesale gas globally, together with higher network and market related charges.
Firmus said next month‘s increase follows three cuts to its Ten Towns tariff over the last year.
The company said it will take bills back to levels experienced one year ago.
Leigh Greer, head of security of supply and markets regulation at the Utility Regulator said: “Unfortunately, the impact of continued and sustained rises in the wholesale cost of energy, caused by the conflict in the Middle East, has resulted in these increases.
“The conflict has impacted energy prices globally, and has already affected home heating oil, petrol and diesel prices.”
Mr Greer said than prior to the Iran crisis, the price for natural gas stood at around 80p per therm.
As tensions in the Middle East escalated, the price peaked at just over £1.70 per therm.
In recent weeks the average price has been around £1.10 – £1.20 per therm.
The Utility Regulator said customers of the north’s regulated gas and electricity suppliers are still paying less than households in the Republic and Britain.
From July 1 2026, the average household bill for Power NI and Firmus Energy customers on Ten Towns will stand at around £2,066 per year, with Power NI and SSE gas customers in Greater Belfast paying around £1,998.
That compares to the average bill in the Republic, which stands at around £2,780, while the GB price gap stands at £2,182.
But the annual domestic gas and electric bill is around double what the average household was paying prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Raymond Gormley from Consumer Council warned that prices could continue to rise if the ongoing crisis in the Middle East is not resolved.
“This is very unwelcome news but given that global wholesale gas prices have increased significantly as a direct consequence of the ongoing Middle East conflict, a rise on gas tariffs was inevitable.
“Another regulated gas tariff review is scheduled for October and if the conflict is not resolved very soon, we could see further price increases in the Autumn.”
