Another hike in electricity and gas due

cifpower

The increases will be announced on Tuesday, but the speculation is that electricity bills will increase by about 30% while gas bills may go up by 10% or even, as pessimists predict, by as much as 20%.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/7607125.stm

Pretani

We in N.Ireland pay double in our electrical bills than in the rest of the UK, and yet our politicians seem more concerned about devolving Policing and Justice than saving the lives of vulnerable pensioners this winter.

steveymp

Pretani wrote: »

We in N.Ireland pay double in our electrical bills than in the rest of the UK, and yet our politicians seem more concerned about devolving Policing and Justice than saving the lives of vulnerable pensioners this winter.

Here Here

And its not just pensioners who have to choose between heat and light or food these days:eek: :eek:

I'm reasonably well paid but with a home to heat and a car to run and 2 kids to feed I not ashamed to admit I bloody struggling:o

sunshine

steveymp wrote: »

Here Here

And its not just pensioners who have to choose between heat and light or food these days:eek: :eek:

I'm reasonably well paid but with a home to heat and a car to run and 2 kids to feed I not ashamed to admit I bloody struggling:o

Totally agree steveymp. It's just hubby and I, only he works - pays not great but just over the limit for any help. Always feel we're stuck in the middle with no help for anything.

Here's todays link from the BBC - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/7607353.stm

Just look at that electricity hike. :eek:

marksimpson

From BBC News:

Electricity bills will rise by a third, adding almost £150 to the average bill. It follows a 14% increase in July.
The 19.2% rise in Phoenix gas prices comes after a 28% increase just four months ago.

nozzadamozza

You took the words out of my mouth- absolutely agree- hubby and I dont follow the news, read local newspapers that much but any time we do its the same people getting well paid for doing !!!!!! all:mad:

Pretani wrote: »

We in N.Ireland pay double in our electrical bills than in the rest of the UK, and yet our politicians seem more concerned about devolving Policing and Justice than saving the lives of vulnerable pensioners this winter.

mojopolo

The consumer council in ni have set up a forum this week to hear what people have to say about the ongoing rises in the cost of living:

http://www.consumercouncil.org.uk/discussion/

bingo_bango

IMHO It's immaterial what peole say. Iain Osborne (NIAUR head) was on Radio Ulster this morning and said that he was happy that NIE had bought and paid for the fuel, and that they wouldn't make any extra profit from this.

I find it scandalous that a company who made £81.5M profit after tax in the year to July 2008 can hike prices by so much. NIE contest that they need to cover the rising cost of fuel, but the issue here is when they bought this fuel.
The role of Iain Osborne and NIAUR is to ensure that NIE have made the best choice when buying fuel. This may involve buying in the futures market, but just this morning, he tried to justify the NIE mistake of buying at the wrong time, blaming market forces at the time of sale.
When pressed on this, Iain then gave a non-answer saying that NIAUR had investigated the whole matter, and were satisfied that they had made the right decisions. He then went on to point out that he also has to pay electricity bills, but then he earns somewhere around £55K per year, so doesn't have to worry about it so much as the general population do.
I feel that NIAUR have dropped the ball on this. He started talking about the SEM (Single Energy Markket) this morning as if this would somehow deflect the impetus of public opinion, but this is something that Iain has no idea on. The SEM has implications for the country as a whole, in streamlining prices between here, RoI, and Scotland, but this does not mean price decreases. All it does is highlight the huge mistake NIE made in it's buying rounds.

There is a need for a campaign to stop this capitalist regime here. Is 81.5M a sensible profit then, when families have to decide how many nappies/litres of oil/potatoes (insert essential here) they can buy? On the basis of the decision yesterday, and this morning's interview, then yes, it is!
Perhaps we need to have a few stories of people starving to death before the Ombudsman step in.

By the way. NIAUR are an unelected Non Departmental Public Body paid for out of your taxes. You have the right to question every decision made. If they refuse to answer, or you feel that they mislead you, you can complain to the NI Ombudsman's office. Tom Frawley is responsible for ensuring there is no untowardness in NI Departments, and this includes the NDPB's.

If we let this go, then we are on a hiding to nothing.

almillar

If you think you gas or electric is too expensive, just switch to a different supplier....
Oh right.
This is probably a good time to remind people about one of the few things they can do about a reliance on 'fuel prices' for their electricity. NIE have an Eco Energy tariff, which costs you exactly the same as the standard tariff. The difference is that they have to get your electricity from renewable sources, eg if 10% of the electricty NI uses was peeps on Eco Energy then they'd have to have 10% renewable supplied.
How many windmills can we fit in?!
http://www.nie-yourenergy.co.uk/eco.php
HTH

smsmith

I have just phoned NIE to confirm a rumour I had heard. I am on a keypad meter (powershift tariff) and the guy at NIE confirmed if I top up as much electricity as I can afford, I will be able to use it at todays price, even after the price rise comes into play.
Not that I don't believe him, but I just wondered if anyone else could confirm this before I delve into the savings account?

Bigcammy

smsmith wrote: »

I have just phoned NIE to confirm a rumour I had heard. I am on a keypad meter (powershift tariff) and the guy at NIE confirmed if I top up as much electricity as I can afford, I will be able to use it at todays price, even after the price rise comes into play.
Not that I don't believe him, but I just wondered if anyone else could confirm this before I delve into the savings account?

I can confirm this and I posted it a couple of months ago before the last increase. When you top up after an increase is applied, you get a longer powercode to type in. This resets your tariff to the new, higher rate, so if you top up with plenty now, then you don't pay the increase until the next time you top up. In my case over the summer it was 3 months before I had to top up and start using at the higher rate.