Decrease to Firmus Energy Supply’s regulated gas tariff welcomed by the Utility Regulator

The Utility Regulator has concluded its review of the regulated gas tariff for Firmus Energy in the Ten Towns area.  

Commenting on the tariff review, Colin Broomfield, Director of Markets at the Utility Regulator said:

“In early February 2026, we began a formal review of the regulated gas tariff for domestic and small business customers of Firmus Energy. 

"Our analysis has resulted in a 10.1%, or £94 per year, decrease to the regulated tariff for domestic and small business customers in the Ten Towns area. The decrease will come into effect on 1 April 2026. This follows on from the announcement last week that SSE Airtricity Gas Supply’s regulated tariff is reducing by 8.1% or £80 per year. 

“The reasons for this reduction to Firmus Energy’s regulated gas tariff is due to a fall in wholesale gas costs and an over-recovery being returned to customers. 

“Both tariff reviews were completed before the recent conflict in the Middle East began. The conflict has impacted gas prices globally, which have risen sharply over the last few days. We expect that wholesale gas prices will remain volatile while the conflict continues. We will continue to monitor the regulated tariffs over the coming weeks. 

“The table below shows the average annual bill comparison, from 1 April 2026, between the combined regulated gas and electricity tariffs with Great Britain and Ireland. From 1 April 2026, the combined regulated electricity tariff with the Firmus Energy gas tariff in Northern Ireland, will be lower than the price cap in Great Britain and tariffs in Ireland.”

Note: *The GB price cap figures include the ‘£150 bill reduction’ announced in the Autumn Budget by the UK government. Figures above are based on the annual bill of a domestic customer consuming 12,000 kWh of gas and 3,200 kWh of electricity on the standard tariff. 

Colin Broomfield continued: 

“If you are worried about paying for your electricity or gas, there is help available. We would encourage you to contact your supplier in the first instance, to make them aware of your circumstances, and discuss the options available. In addition, there are a number of agencies who can provide free and independent advice to households, including Advice NI, Christians Against Poverty, the Consumer Council and Money and Pensions Service’s MoneyHelper.”

This tariff announcement marks the conclusion of a review undertaken by the Utility Regulator and Firmus Energy, in consultation with the Department for the Economy and the Consumer Council for Northern Ireland. 

Further information: 

• Media contact: Adele Boyle on 07787 279584.
• Over recovery explanation - wholesale gas costs make up a large component of a customer’s final tariff. When the tariff is set, forecast wholesale costs are used. However, as wholesale costs can be volatile, there is often a difference between the forecast costs and the actual cost paid for by a supplier. When the costs turnout to be lower than forecast (referred to as over-recovery), the regulated supplier will return the costs to customers in the following tariff period. Alternatively, should these costs turn out to be higher than forecast (referred to as under-recovery), the regulated supplier is able to recharge the under recovered difference to customers in the following tariff period. This ensures that customers only pay for the actual cost of gas.
• The bill comparison with GB and Ireland is based on annual consumption of 12,000 kWh of gas and 3,200 kWh of electricity, on the standard tariff.
• The exchange rate used for comparison with Ireland is 0.87 and VAT rate is 9%.
• The Ten Towns and Greater Belfast/West areas are two separate markets, with different distribution network operators and different network use of system costs.
• The Firmus Energy tariff review covers almost 75,000 (74,725) customers in the Ten Towns area.
• The 10.1% reduction is the supplier’s seventh consecutive decrease, including 7.86% in October 2025, 11.84% in April 2025 and 15.6% in April 2024.
• The Utility Regulator only regulates Firmus Energy’s gas tariff in the Ten Towns area.
• The Ten Towns area includes: Derry/Londonderry, Limavady, Coleraine (including Portstewart and Bushmills), Ballymoney, Ballymena (Broughshane), Antrim (including Ballyclare and Templepatrick), Craigavon (including Portadown and Lurgan), Banbridge, Newry (Warrenpoint), Armagh (Tandragee) and more than 25 other towns and villages.
• The Consumer Council’s website has energy advice for consumers and also provides an independent energy price comparison tool to help consumers save money.
• A number of agencies can provide free and independent advice, including Advice NI, Money and Pensions Service and Christians Against Poverty. There is also more information on support for natural gas customers from the naturalgasni.com website.