NEA NI Response to the Department for the Economy’s Offshore Renewable Energy Action Plan (OREAP) Consultation
Date: 21st May 2025

We appreciate this opportunity to input into DfE’s ORE policy development, following the publication of two assessment reports. Our key comments are as follows:
- NEA NI supports a fair and just transition to net zero, driven by the needs of energy consumers as the priority.
- NEA NI sees delivery of the Executive’s Energy Strategy, ‘Path to Net Zero Energy’, as an opportunity to reduce fuel poverty in NI. To achieve this, it is imperative that consumer protection and a fair and just transition remains meaningfully at the forefront of our journey to decarbonisation.
- Urgent action is needed to address the fuel poverty crisis in Northern Ireland. Polling conducted for NEA NI in September 2024, revealed that as many as 40% of NI households are now living in fuel poverty. This means that choosing between heating and eating is very much a reality for around 80,000 homes.
- Ongoing policy development on ORE is welcome to bring us closer to achieving the Energy Strategy’s aims of an affordable, secure, and clean energy system for current and future generations.
- However, we are concerned that as energy systems change, there is a risk that upfront investment costs will be passed on to consumers, exacerbating financial pressures.
- Therefore, we wish to stress again, that fuel poor households cannot end up being disproportionate sponsors of hitting the renewable electricity target. It is imperative that there is a fair distribution of the cost of decarbonisation with those on the lowest incomes protected.
- Additionally, we encourage DfE’s ORE policy development to include engagement with EnergyCloud NI, to assess how any surplus renewable energy from ORE, which would otherwise be wasted, can be diverted to support homes in fuel poverty.
You can download the full response from the link under ‘Resources’.
© 2025 NEA all rights reserved.