Debate contribution: Energy Costs: Support
Debate contribution by Dr Caoimhe Archibald on .
- MLA
- Dr Caoimhe Archibald
- Party at the time
- Sinn Féin
- Date
- 21 April 2026
- Type
- Debate contribution (made as a minister)
- Business
- Oral Answers to Questions
- Heading
- Energy Costs: Support
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5497802
Read the official Assembly record
Text
The British Chancellor has made it clear that any further support will be targeted at households that need it most. At present, as the Member knows, only £17 million has been earmarked for support here following the significant rise in heating oil costs. That is insufficient. However, work has been undertaken by the Minister for Communities, and the Executive agreed last week to provide additional support. That will be rolled out over the next short number of months. More work needs to be done to ensure that that support gets out. I speak regularly with my counterparts in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, Minister Shanks and Minister Martin McCluskey and have emphasised that further support is needed. Separate to that and before the current energy crisis, my officials, along with officials from the Department of Finance, secured a commitment from Treasury to cover 75% of the NIRO cost to consumers. That is consistent with the support announced for British electricity consumers in the autumn Budget. It amounts to a discount of around £30 on domestic electricity bills per household each year for three years, which totals around £81 million. The British Government will extend the Energy Prices Act 2022 through a statutory instrument (SI) in the Westminster Parliament, which is the fastest route available to us to pass on the savings to households here. The SI was laid on Monday 16 March and is expected to complete its passage before the summer recess. In the past number of weeks, my officials agreed in principle with electricity suppliers, NIE, the Consumer Council and the Utility Regulator how the discount will be delivered. We will now seek approval for the business case for that funding from Treasury, and it is expected that electricity consumers will see savings from 1 July this year and then from 1 April in 2027 and 2028.
312 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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