Share Energy, which commits to sharing half of its profits with customers, has confirmed a forthcoming rise in tariffs after what it described as prolonged increases in the external costs of supplying electricity in Northern Ireland.

The company said it had worked to insulate households from the full impact of market pressures by absorbing and delaying cost rises where possible, but that this approach had reached its limits.

Since entering the Northern Ireland market two years ago, the firm noted that the energy sector has undergone extreme volatility — initially following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and more recently due to conflict and instability in the Middle East.

In addition to higher wholesale prices, suppliers face regulated network charges set by the Utility Regulator and system costs associated with transporting and operating the grid, paid to NIE Networks and SONI. Damian Wilson, CEO of Share Energy, said: "We know our customers will be disappointed by this announcement, and we fully empathise with them. However, even with these unfortunate increases, Share Energy still offers some of the most competitive rates available in NI'.

"Over the last two years, the energy market has faced one external shock after another. Throughout that period, we've worked hard to shield our customers from the full impact, absorbing costs where we could and delaying increases for as long as it was responsible to do so.

"Unfortunately, we have now reached the point where the combined impact of wholesale energy costs and regulated network and system costs is simply too significant for us to continue absorbing.

"This isn't a decision we've taken lightly."

Wilson also called on the Government to urgently tackle what he described as the Northern Ireland electricity sector's over-reliance on gas, branding it the system's "Achilles heel".

"We came into this market to offer Northern Ireland customers a genuine alternative and better overall value. That mission hasn't changed. And when the costs of supplying electricity fall, we will, of course, look to reflect that in the prices our customers pay."

Share Energy said it is writing to all affected customers with details of the new prices and outlining support for anyone who may struggle to pay their bills.