firmus energy has announced a 20.52% reduction of their gas tariff for domestic and small business customers in their Ten Town area from today, Tuesday 06 December, alongside a 17.6% decrease across the Greater Belfast Network from 01 January 2023.

These are the first tariff decreases from firmus energy since October 2020 and will ease the bills of their 111,000 domestic and small business gas customers across Northern Ireland.

These price reductions, effective 1 January 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.

• For customers in the Greater Belfast Network, this means the annual gas bill of a typical household with a credit meter will reduce by about £300.20 per year and customers with a prepayment gas meter (PAYG) will see their typical costs reduce by around £294.60 per year factoring in the new EPG rate.

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

The Consumer Council is currently running its 'save money and energy campaign' which sets out support and advice to help households save money on their bills this winter by reducing their energy usage through adopting energy efficiency measures. The 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.