Firmus Energy Ten Towns tariff to increase by 9%

The Utility Regulator has announced an increase to firmus energy's regulated gas tariff in the Ten Towns network area of 9%, following a review of the supplier's costs. The announcement was published on 4 September 2026¹. The Consumer Council, which also reported the change the same day, gives the figure as 8.98% for domestic and small business customers in the Ten Towns gas network areas².

The two bodies describe the same increase to two decimal places. The Utility Regulator states:

"Following our detailed scrutiny of Firmus Energy Supply’s costs, the regulated gas tariff in the Ten Towns area will increase by 9%."

The Consumer Council's announcement covers a second network as well. Its headline refers to an 8.98% increase in the Ten Towns network and a 12.5% increase in the Greater Belfast network². The Utility Regulator's own announcement addresses only the Ten Towns area¹. The Consumer Council page does not state the effective date of the increase in its summary text, which ends mid-sentence². No effective date for the Ten Towns increase has been reported in the material available.

The change follows a period of movement in both directions on this tariff. The Consumer Council records a 10.10% reduction in firmus energy's regulated Ten Towns gas tariffs effective from 1 April 2026, and a 15.65% increase effective from 1 July 2026². Other regulated gas and electricity changes announced for autumn 2026 include a 19.2% increase for SSE Airtricity gas customers from 1 October 2026, affecting around 204,000 domestic gas customers across the Greater Belfast and West network areas, and a 12.6% increase to Share Energy's standard 24 hour electricity tariff from 1 October 2026².

Sources: Utility Regulator¹; Consumer Council².

Why it matters for households

For a household in the Ten Towns area using regulated gas, the tariff that sets the unit price and standing charge for that supply is set by the Utility Regulator rather than by competition, so the change applies to the supply whether or not the household switches to another gas supplier. The Ten Towns network is one of the distinct gas network areas in Northern Ireland, and the regulated tariff applies to domestic and small business customers there².

A 9% rise on the gas side of a bill raises the cost of space heating and hot water for homes connected to that network, at a point in the year when heating demand begins to climb. Because the regulated tariff is reviewed rather than fixed, the direction of travel has not been one way: the same tariff fell by 10.10% in April 2026 before rising by 15.65% in July 2026². Households on this tariff therefore have recent experience of both increases and reductions.

Energy independence for a home rests on how much of its heating and power it controls and what it pays for the rest. A regulated gas tariff change does not alter the physical supply, but it does alter the running cost of gas heating relative to other options, and it changes the payback arithmetic on any insulation, heating control or alternative heating measure a household may already have. The Consumer Council's own guidance points households to support with high energy costs, energy efficiency information and appliance running cost tools³.

What happens next

The Utility Regulator has commenced tariff reviews for regulated gas suppliers, announced on 5 August 2026¹. The outcome of the SSE Airtricity Gas Supply tariff review was announced on 28 August 2026¹. The Utility Regulator's Q2 2026 Quarterly Retail Energy Market Monitoring report on Northern Ireland's retail energy market was published on 17 September 2026¹. No effective date for the firmus energy Ten Towns increase has been reported.

Sources3 cited

1. News | Utility Regulator, uregni.gov.uk
2. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 | Consumer Council, consumercouncil.org.uk
3. Electricity, oil and gas | Consumer Council, consumercouncil.org.uk