The Utility Regulator today publishes its latest Quarterly Transparency Report (QTR) for Quarter 1 (January to March) 2017.
We publish retail market Quarterly Transparency Reports at the end of February, May, August and November each year. The reports provide a range of information about the electricity and gas energy supply markets in Northern Ireland. The QTR presents data collected by the UR as part of the Retail Energy Market Monitoring (REMM) framework. REMM requires network companies and suppliers to submit data on a range of indicators to enhance UR transparency around market behaviours and regulatory compliance. We use the information outlined in the report to review the progress and impact of supply competition; build knowledge for regulatory decisions; comply with EU Third Package mandatory requirements on market monitoring; allow other interested stakeholders to understand more readily the activity within our energy markets; and to help promote the interests of consumers.
EU pricing comparative data within the report is sourced from Eurostat, and can be influenced by exchange rate movements as well as underlying prices and costs.
The report includes updated electricity pricing comparisons between the EU, GB, RoI and NI for the second semester of 2016 (July to December) with the following key trends:
- Average NI domestic electricity prices are now amongst the lowest in Europe at 13.9 p/kWh and are considerably lower than the Republic of Ireland (20.1 p/kWh), the EU median (17.3 p/kWh) and the UK (15.7 p/kWh).
- NI I&C electricity prices for the Very Small connections (which represent 66% of I&C connections) are now one of the lowest in Europe. The NI price at 11.8 p/kWh is lower than the UK (12.6 p/kWh), the EU median (15.7 p/kWh) and Republic of Ireland (16.9 p/kWh).
- The majority of I&C customers in NI (99.9%) have prices lower than the RoI and lower than the UK.
In the gas markets the regulated tariffs for SSE Airtricity and firmus energy (the incumbent price controlled gas suppliers) were published at the end of February. The tariff reviews indicated the following:
- 7.6% increase to the SSE Airtricity regulated tariff, taking effect from 31st March 2017.
- 12.2% increase to the firmus energy regulated tariff taking effect from 31st March 2017.
Market activity in the electricity domestic and I&C sectors continues to illustrate a change in the market dynamics, with new market entrants increasing their connections quarter on quarter. Domestic customers continue to actively engage in the electricity market with over 35,500 switches completed during Q1 2017 which is a 4.5% quarterly switching rate.
In the gas sector, switching activity in the Greater Belfast domestic market remained relatively unchanged this quarter. I&C market activity in the Ten Towns has decreased this quarter to 1.5% from 3.8%.
Any comments or queries in relation to this paper should be made to:
Seán Murphy
Utility Regulator
Queens House
14 Queen Street
Belfast BT1 6ED
Direct Tel: +44 (0) 28 9031 6332
Copies of all documents can be made available in large print, Braille, audio cassette and a variety of relevant minority languages if required.