Electricity discount to be paid to NI households
The one-off £63 reduction in electricity bills will be paid from next month.
Electricity discount to be paid to NI households
All households in Northern Ireland will receive a one-off £63 cut in electricity bills from next month.
It is the local effect of two schemes that apply in Great Britain, which has a separately regulated electricity market.
The schemes are being funded by the UK government and will be applied automatically, with no application required.
Customers who pay by bank payment will have their bills reduced automatically, while pay-as-you-go customers will get £63 in credit when they top up their meter.
The only issue for pay-as-you-go customers is that they should not buy more than £112 of credit if they want to receive the discount in one go.
That is because meters are set up to accept a maximum payment of £175. Top-ups above this amount mean the £63 payment will be split across a later top-up.
Economy Minister Dr Caoimhe Archibald said the money would help families.
The Economy Minister Dr Caoimhe Archibald said the money would "provide some help for families as winter kicks in and energy bills rise".
Last week, applications opened for a separate means-tested scheme to provide a £100 voucher to some heating oil users. It is jointly funded by Stormont and the UK government.
The electricity scheme reflects two policies that apply in GB: a temporary cut in VAT and the removal tax of some consumer levies.
The UK government decided not to apply the VAT cut in NI because it would have required agreement with the EU, which it thought would cause delay.
It comes as energy prices continue to rise, driven by the US conflict with Iran.
Data from the NI consumer council suggests 500 litres of home heating oil currently costs around £560, more than twice the price compared with this time last year.