Gas prices to rise by 22% for SSE Airtricity customers in Northern Ireland

Gas prices will rise by 21.8 per cent for some 180,000 SSE Airtricity customers in Northern Ireland, the company has announced.

The increase announced on Friday will take effect from October 1st and will apply to all domestic and small business customers supplied by SSE Airtricity.

The company’s general manager for Northern Ireland, Andrew Greer, said commodity costs have “risen sharply” over the past year, with the cost of purchasing natural gas on the wholesale market more than doubling since the summer of 2020. The sustained increases are compounded by short supply and robust demand on global gas markets, he added.

Mr Greer said the decision to hike prices has “not been taken lightly”, and the company will look to reduces costs “as soon as it is possible to do so”.

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The yearly gas bill of a typical household will rise by about £112.

The Consumer Council’s director of infrastructure and sustainability, Peter McClenaghan, warned that such large price rises make budgeting difficult for consumers. SSE Airtricity’s increase follows rises in electricity, grocery, and fuel cost, he noted.

The announcement is “particularly bad news for consumers in vulnerable situations as it will coincide with the end of the furlough scheme, the removal of the Universal Credit uplift, and the start of winter”, Mr McClenaghan added.

He encouraged anyone struggling with their energy bills to request help and information from their supplier. Customers should also consider ways they can reduce their energy costs by switching supplier or changing billing method, he said.

SSE Airtricity announced in July that it would increase household energy prices in the Republic from September 1st due to the rising wholesale energy costs. A typical household will see its bill rise by 9.8 per cent.