§ Ms MowlamTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the cost per unit of electricity in Northern Ireland for(a) domestic users and (b) business users. [39636]
§ Mr. AncramInformation on unit electricity charges for domestic and business users is set out in the monthly and quarterly billed tariffs booklets published by Northern Ireland Electricity plc. I have arranged for copies of the April 1995 booklet to be placed in the Library of the House.
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§ Ms MowlamTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the differential betweensss electricity prices in Northern Ireland and Great Britain. [39631]
§ Mr. AncramMy right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State said in his statement to the Northern Ireland Committee on 21 June that the Northern Ireland electricity system, because it was small, dispersed and isolated, was inherently high cost by British isles standards, but that the growing divergence currently being experienced is more due to falling prices in Great Britain than to rising prices in Northern Ireland.
The Northern Ireland electricity supply industry is at present in transition, but it is making steady progress towards mirroring the characteristics of the lower cost industry in Great Britain. Recent developments which will help reduce the differential include the reallocation of sulphur quotas and the decision of British Gas to support the development of a natural gas industry in Northern Ireland, as this will reduce the cost of the gas supply to the Ballylumford power station. The 1997 Northern Ireland Electricity price reviews and the introduction of more competition should also have a favourable impact on prices. The latest comprehensive statements on the size of price differential is based on 1994–95 data and are contained in the Director General of Electricity Supply for Northern Ireland's memorandum submitted to the Northern Ireland Committee earlier this year and the paper published in June 1994 entitled "Northern Ireland and Great Britain's Electricity Prices". Copies of these are available in the Library of the House.