Getty ImagesPower NI, which is the only regulated electricity supplier in Northern Ireland, has about 500,000 household customersAll households in Northern Ireland are set to get a £30 reduction in electricity bills in July as part of a UK government scheme.
It is a Northern Ireland-specific version of an initiative being implemented in the rest of the UK.
The Westminster legislation needed for the scheme is now underway and it is understood the Economy Minister, Caomihe Archibald, has brought a proposal to the executive.
There has been some political controversy over the scheme and how the money could be used.
The scheme, which will cost £81m, follows on from an announcement made at the UK budget in November 2025.
It removed two environmental levies in Great Britain which should cut household electricity bills by £150 a year.
Northern Ireland operates in a different electricity market from the rest of UK with its own regulations.
The larger of the two levies being removed from bills in GB does not exist in NI, accounting for the smaller saving which will be seen in NI bills.
The money is ringfenced for electricity costs so cannot be used for other purposes.
Earlier this week the Secretary of State, Hillary Benn, had suggested it could possibly be used for a different energy support scheme if the Treasury agreed to reclassify the money.
That now seems unlikely and the economy minister has accused the DUP of not understanding or deliberately seeking to mislead the public about the scheme.
That came after the DUP criticised her department for not moving quickly enough to distribute the money.
The necessary legislation is expected to be in place in June.
Then in July electricity customers paying by direct debit monthly or quarterly will have £30 credited to their accounts, and pay-as-you-go customers will have £30 credited to their keycard card.
In the subsequent two years of the scheme the credit will apply from 1 April.
