firmus energy announced on 29 May 2026 that it will raise its regulated gas tariffs by 15.65% for domestic and small business customers in the Ten Towns gas network areas, with the increase effective from 1 July 20261. The announcement was reported by the Consumer Council, the independent body that publishes Northern Ireland tariff news1.
The same date saw a separate announcement from Power NI, Northern Ireland's biggest electricity supplier, which is set to increase its tariff for residential customers by 6.2% from 1 July 20261. The Consumer Council's summary of the Power NI change states that a typical Power NI customer with a credit meter will see a change in their bill, though the full figure is not given in the text available1.
The firmus energy increase follows a reduction on the same tariffs earlier in the year. On 5 March 2026, firmus energy announced a reduction of 10.10% on its regulated gas tariffs for domestic and small business customers in the Ten Towns network areas, effective from 1 April 20261. The 15.65% rise takes effect three months after that reduction.
The Consumer Council's news listings show a series of tariff changes across Northern Ireland suppliers during 2026. Click Energy increased its electricity tariff by 9.5% and Share Energy by 26.4%, both effective from 1 April 20261. SSE Airtricity increased electricity tariffs by 6.2% from 1 August 2026, and Budget Energy increased its electricity variable tariffs by 9.5% from 4 August 20261. SSE Airtricity also announced a 19.2% increase for gas customers effective from 1 October 2026, and Share Energy announced a 12.6% increase on its standard 24 hour electricity tariff effective from 1 October 20261. A further firmus energy announcement, dated 4 September 2026, set out an 8.98% increase in the Ten Towns network and a 12.5% increase in the Greater Belfast network1.
"firmus energy today announced an increase on their regulated gas tariffs of 15.65%, for domestic and small business customers in the Ten Towns gas network areas, effective from 01 July 2026."
Why it matters for households
For a household on the Ten Towns gas network, the tariff that sets the unit rate and standing charge for gas supply is regulated, and a 15.65% increase changes the cost of every unit of gas used for heating, hot water and cooking from 1 July 20261. Households in the Ten Towns areas are those connected to that network rather than the Greater Belfast network, and the two networks have seen different firmus energy announcements during 20261.
The wider pattern across Northern Ireland suppliers in 2026 has been upward, with the firmus energy reduction in April followed by increases from several suppliers1. For a home's energy independence, the practical effect of a regulated tariff rise is that the cost of the gas a household buys is set by the network and supplier rather than by anything the household controls, unless it changes how much gas it uses or switches to another way of heating. The Consumer Council's listings do not set out the reasons for the firmus energy increase, and no figure for the effect on a typical annual bill in the Ten Towns network is given in the text available1.
What happens next
The 15.65% increase takes effect from 1 July 20261. The Consumer Council's listings also record a later firmus energy announcement, dated 4 September 2026, of an 8.98% increase in the Ten Towns network and a 12.5% increase in the Greater Belfast network, with the effective date not stated in the text available1.
Sources1 cited
- The Consumer Rights Act 2015 | Consumer Council, consumercouncil.org.uk