§ Mr. BeggsTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if the transitional relief to monthly billed industrial electricity consumers in Northern Ireland, announced by him on 25 March, is in place; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. AtkinsYes. Transitional relief in the form of rebates on electricity bills, will be paid to about 3,800 monthly billed industrial and commercial customers. This will enable the tariff increase for those customers, which took effect from 1 April 1993, to be reduced from an average of 15 per cent. to 9 per cent. The relief will be paid out of a trust fund of £12.9 million which has been established and funded out of the dividend of £16.5 million declared by NIE in respect of the year to 31 March 1993. A subsidiary company of Northern Ireland Electricity plc will act as trustee. These arrangements have been notified to and cleared by the European Commission.