Firmus Energy customers to benefit from 20.52% gas price reduction and save £416.60 per year

The company announced the reduction to their regulated gas tariffs for domestic and small business customers in the Ten Towns area, which includes Derry and Limavady, on Tuesday morning.

A 17.6% decrease in the Greater Belfast Network, will also be effective from January 1, 2023.

These are the first tariff decreases from Firmus Energy since October 2020.

These price reductions, effective January 1, 2023, will coincide with a reduction of the Energy Price Guarantee discount rate for gas customers to 3.9p/kWh.

For customers in the Ten Towns, this means the annual gas bill of a typical household with a credit meter will reduce by about £416.60 per year and customers with a prepayment gas meter (PAYG) will see their typical costs reduce by around £341.52 per year factoring in the new EPG rate.

Raymond Gormley, Head of Energy Policy at the Consumer Council, welcomed the move.

He said: “These Firmus Energy tariff reductions in both the Ten Towns and Greater Belfast networks are welcome as they will ease some of the pressure that customers have been dealing with for the last number of months.

"However, prices still remain much higher than last year so many consumers in Northern Ireland are still justifiably worried about their bills. We urge anyone who is struggling to pay their energy bills or top-up their meters to contact their supplier directly for help and support.”

The Consumer Council, working together with the Utility Regulator and energy suppliers, have recently co-designed a new energy charter which sees gas and electricity suppliers come together to provide households with extra support this winter.

In signing up to the charter, suppliers have agreed to contribute to a hardship fund to help consumers financially, and to implement a range of additional measures to help consumers who are struggling with their energy bills.

Advice and guidance, including an overview of all financial help, grants, and schemes that are currently available to consumers, is available at www.consumercouncil.org.uk/costofliving/energy

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This will reduce the average cost by £8.831 per week in Ten Towns and by £7.922 in Greater Belfast.

Firmus suggests that on an annual basis, this will save customers £460 and £410, on average, respectively.

Niall Martindale, Chief Executive Officer of Firmus Energy said: “Firmus Energy is pleased to be announcing this price reduction.

“Throughout this challenging period, we committed that as soon as market conditions allowed us to lower our prices we would do so, and today we are pleased to confirm that prices will be reduced from January 2023.

“The Government’s EPG scheme will provide further savings and we welcome the additional support it is providing to our customers at this time.”

Customers seeking advice on their natural gas bills or direct debit payments should contact the Firmus Energy Customer Services team on 0330 024 9000 or [email protected]. For free and independent advice on how to save energy please contact NI Energy Advice Line on 0800 111 4455.