firmus energy extends price commitment
firmus energy who supply natural gas to ten towns and cities outside greater Belfast, today announced that they will be extending their current price cap to 1 February 2009. The company’s three-year price freeze was due to come to an end on 31st December 2008 but will be extended to February 2009.
Mark Prentice, general manager for firmus energy said, “We are in consultation with the Consumer Council, DETI and the Regulator on our prices for 2009 but, in advance of any final decision, firmus energy has decided in the interests of consumers to hold off any price changes until February 2009. We will announce our new tariff in January 2009.
“We know that traditionally January is one of the coldest months of the year and we have decided to insulate our customers from any price increase for an additional month. And with wholesale gas prices falling from their unprecedented highs earlier this year, we want to ensure that our customers get the best possible benefits and the fairest deal going forward.
“When we first entered this market, it was at a time of great volatility in energy costs and customers told us they wanted stability and the best possible price. We recognised that many of our customers are on a fixed income and it was important to them to be able to budget and know what they were going to be paying.
“We therefore introduced a price cap for an initial two years and subsequently extended this for a further year until the end of 2008.
“During this time, other domestic fuel suppliers passed on huge increases in prices and exhibited extreme price fluctuation - particularly the case for oil suppliers earlier this year when crude oil prices were at an unprecedented high.
“We are delighted that in the last year alone, firmus energy natural gas customers will have saved almost £3001 switching from heating oil. In fact, since January 2006 firmus energy has been on average around 18% cheaper than oil in our 10 towns.2
“In capping our prices in January 2006 we believe that firmus energy was the only energy company not just in Northern Ireland but in the whole of the UK to offer a ‘zero-premium’ fixed price.
“As the gas is piped directly to consumers’ homes, there is also the added reassurance of never running out as many oil customers did recently when a high number of orders meant many companies ran out of oil and customers had to wait up to a week for their delivery,” he added.
The company also has a free, voluntary and confidential firmuscare scheme which looks after the differing needs of vulnerable customers.
This scheme is open to those customers who are over 60 years of age and living alone or those who are disabled or chronically sick. For more information contact us on 08456 08 00 88 or by text phone on 08456 03 10 88. Mark Prentice, continues, “We are committed to offering all our customers a first-class service. However we recognise that some will require a little extra help and have developed a full range of services, all free of charge, which are designed to make life easier for those on the firmuscare scheme.”
For further information, please contact Suzie Fisher of the Davidson Cockcroft Partnership on 02890 402296
Notes to the editor
Comparison Information:
- Annual savings over oil based on average price of 5.05p/kWh for kerosene from November 07 - November 08 for a home using 16,017kWh of energy per annum, compared to firmus energy’s gas price - 3.2 p/kWh.
- Average home heating over last 3 years (Jan 2006 – present) 3.9p/kWh compared to 3.2p /kWh.
