Firmus Energy customers face price increase
Customers in the Ten Towns area will see a 8.98% increase and 12.5% for Greater Belfast.
Firmus Energy customers are set to see higher prices after the company announced an 8.98% increase for those in the Ten Towns area and a 12.5% rise for customers in Greater Belfast.
The new Ten Towns tariff will take effect from 1 October and will add about £7 a month to the average customer bill.
In Greater Belfast, the new tariffs for around 54,000 customers will come into effect from 8 October and will add about £12 a month.
The company said the rise was "due to the increased cost of gas on the global energy markets caused by the prolonged conflict in the Middle East".
Around 77,000 households and small businesses are in the Ten Towns area, which includes Antrim, Armagh, Banbridge, Ballymena, Coleraine, Craigavon, Newry, Londonderry and more than 25 other towns and villages in the surrounding area.
Announcing the tariff change, Sharleen Winning, head of regulation at Firmus Energy, said they "cannot ignore the impact the situation in the Middle East is having on the cost of energy".
"Unfortunately this has left us with no option other than to increase our tariffs."
Winning said Firmus Energy have "held off for as long as we could in the hope of a resolution that would lead to a reduction in the global wholesale prices".
"We have demonstrated that when we are in a position to reduce tariffs, we do so without delay, and we hope to be able to do so again, once the global markets allow this."
The announcement follows last week’s news that Northern Ireland's largest provider of natural gas, SSE Airtricity, is increasing prices by almost 19% from 1 October for its 200,000 customers.
Leigh Greer from the Utility Regulator said customers worried about paying for gas or electricity should contact their supplier as soon as possible.
"Suppliers will work with customers to discuss payment options and the support available.
"We recognise that another increase in energy bills will be deeply concerning for households and small businesses, particularly for those already under pressure from the wider cost of living."