firmus energy to raise gas prices by 15.65%

firmus energy has announced a 15.65% tariff increase for its Ten Towns customers, which includes Newry. The increase will be effective from 1 July 2026, adding an average of £2.47 per week to household bills. The company says rising wholesale gas costs on global energy markets, driven in part by ongoing Middle East tensions, are behind the rise.

The increase comes after firmus reduced its tariffs by more than 27% in the Ten Towns Network area from April 2025, including a 10.1% reduction earlier this year before the impact of the conflict began to be felt in the market.

David Smith, Director at firmus energy Supply, said the company had been working to shield customers from price changes for as long as possible.

"Over recent months we have been monitoring global markets closely and protecting consumers from price changes for as long as possible. Unfortunately, we continue to experience elevated wholesale prices while the conflict in the Middle East remains unresolved."

He said the effect of the increase would bring bills back to roughly where they were a year ago, and still well below previous years.

"Over the last year or so we have reduced our tariffs on three separate occasions, bringing tariffs down by over 27% and saving customers around £300 on average per annum. Today's announcement, whilst unwelcome, means that customers' bills will now be roughly the same as this time last year and still significantly below where they had been in previous years."

Mr Smith added that the ability to forward purchase gas had helped limit the impact on customers, and that the company would look to reduce tariffs again once markets stabilise.

"As Northern Ireland's largest gas supplier by volume, we want to provide the best value possible to all our customers and we have demonstrated that when we are in a position to reduce tariffs we do so without delay, and we hope to be able to do so again once the global markets stabilise."

Customers with queries about their bills or direct debit payments can contact the firmus energy Supply customer services team on 0330 024 9000 or at furtherinfo@firmusenergy.co.uk. Free and independent energy saving advice is available from the NI Energy Advice Line on 0800 111 4455.