NEA NI welcomes the opportunity to respond to the SONI governance licence modifications consultation.

The Consumer Council for Northern Ireland (CCNI) plays a fundamental role in providing vital information, advice and advocacy for all consumers in Northern Ireland, with a focus on vulnerable consumers. This work has great importance for NEA and many organisations throughout Northern Ireland, both strategically and operationally, and we welcome the opportunity to respond to this Draft Forward Work Plan 2022–2023.

The Budget provides the Executive with an opportunity to improve the lives of people in Northern Ireland by allocating resources to high priority areas in order to improve outcomes for citizens.

NEA NI welcomes the opportunity to respond to the Department for Economy’s Consultation on ‘Heat Networks – Building a market framework’.

Soaring increases mean the cost of heating an average home will have doubled in 18 months and the in fuel poverty will also soar from 4 million to 6.5 million households across the UK

This policy briefing highlights the positive steps that can be taken now by the UK Government and energy regulator Ofgem to respond to the current energy crisis and support vulnerable energy customers this winter. It is hoped that this will prompt policy interventions in advance of Ofgem announcing in February the next revision to the energy price cap.

The report details that there were 5,802 deaths in Northern Ireland in the 2019/20 winter period which is the third highest number of winter deaths in the last 10 years.

Over the last number of weeks, we have experienced a significant rise in the number of households seeking emergency support for fuel poverty. We therefore welcome the launch of DfC’s Emergency Fuel Payment Scheme.

Martin Lewis from Money Saving Expert has announced he will donate £100,000 to help NEA increase its support to the most vulnerable as the Energy Crisis intensifies.