The regulator of the Northern Ireland electricity market has cut the capital expenditure plans of Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE), which is part of energy group Viridian.
The regulator originally allowed the company a capital expenditure spend of £326 million, but in recent days a new document has cut this back to £312 million.
This represents the amount of money NIE will be allowed spend on its transmission and distribution business in the period between April 2007 and March 2012.
The regulator - the Northern Ireland Authority for Energy Regulation - is now seeking views on this lower amount. While the electricity system needs extra spending, higher capital investment often results in higher prices for consumers.
Consultations will take place until July 3rd and then final proposals will be issued.
The regulator in Northern Ireland works in similar ways to the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) in the Republic. In the Republic and the North, ESB and Viridian are allowed to recover a certain amount of capital expenditure via their tariff structures.
