The government reduced the extra support delivered through the Energy Price Guarantee to zero on 1 July 2023, the Consumer Council has said1. For Power NI customers the government support fell from 3.77p per unit to 0p, which the council estimates adds an average of 14p per day to a household bill1.
The scheme began in November 2022 and discounted the unit price paid by Northern Ireland consumers for electricity and gas1. The Consumer Council said that although energy bills are starting to come down, prices remain around double the pre-pandemic norm and households continue to struggle1. It added that the change is likely to push disabled households further into financial detriment, and that households already cutting down on energy may find themselves unable to keep warm or cook warm meals1.
"On 1st July 2023 the government reduced the extra support through their energy price guarantee to zero."
The council's research, published in October 2023, found that energy bills are often higher in disabled households because of the need for energy to manage a disability, including specialised equipment, prolonged periods of heating and higher personal hygiene and laundry costs1. It reported that 38 per cent of those with additional costs because someone in their household has a disability said it will be difficult to cope with those costs, with 33 per cent saying they will struggle and 11 per cent saying they will be unable to cope1.
The reduction applied across Great Britain as well as Northern Ireland. Good Energy told customers that the government had reduced the Energy Price Guarantee to £0 on 1 July 2023 for most households, and that a small level of discount remains for customers on prepayment tariffs so that they pay the same rate as standard customers paying by Direct Debit2. The supplier also said it was changing its default tariff on 1 November 2023 for non Direct Debit customers, so that only Direct Debit customers continue to receive its Direct Debit discount2.
Separately, Ofgem reduced the Typical Domestic Consumption Values used to illustrate household usage and prices from 1 October 20232:
| Measure | Previous | From 1 October 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Electricity | 2,900 kWh | 2,700 kWh |
| Gas | 12,000 kWh | 11,500 kWh |
Good Energy said the change affects the communication of typical energy use, not an individual bill, and that lower reported annual figures may reflect the reduced values rather than cuts in unit rates2.
Why it matters for households
The Energy Price Guarantee worked by capping the unit price a household paid rather than the total bill, so removing the remaining support raised the price of every unit used. For a household in Northern Ireland on Power NI supply, the council's estimate of 14p per day works out at roughly £4 a month, or about £51 a year, before any change in usage1. Because the discount was per unit, a home that uses more energy loses more support, and the council's research identifies disabled households as among the heaviest users1. That links the change directly to energy independence at home: the less a household relies on bought-in units, the less exposed it is to a change of this kind.
Northern Ireland has its own tariffs and its own help arrangements for households in difficulty, and the council said its energy team has provided consumers with tools to check they are getting the best tariff and to help them switch providers1. It has not been reported what, if anything, replaces the support withdrawn on 1 July 2023.
What happens next
Good Energy's default tariff change for non Direct Debit customers took effect on 1 November 2023, with the supplier saying it would give at least 10 days' notice before taking a first Direct Debit payment2. No end date or successor for the Energy Price Guarantee support is given in either source.
Sources2 cited
- 103824 Consumer Council - Debt, Disability and Energy FINAL.pdf, consumercouncil.org.uk
- Our default tariff is changing on 1st November 2023 | Good Energy, goodenergy.co.uk