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From Monday 27 September 2021, you can apply for your £100 Spend Local pre-paid card. This card is part of the High Street Voucher Scheme and we’re all being encouraged to spend it in our local high streets to help boost the economy.

The card can be used in the same way as a bank or debit card and you can spend it on goods and services in any local business in person or by phone.

Budget Energy, Northern Ireland’s third largest domestic electricity supplier, is set to increase prices by 18% from Friday 8 October 2021. This announcement today means that, in the last seven months, it has increased prices by over 36%.

Click Energy have announced it will be increasing electricity prices by 16% for customers on a variable rate tariff from 1 October 2021 and comes after a 9% rise earlier this month. This will see the typical bill paying and keypad (PAYG) meter customers needing to find up to an extra £100 per year.

Firmus energy has announced today, 8 September 2021, an increase of 35.15% from 1st October 2021 for gas customers in the Ten Towns area.

SSE Airtricity have announced today (Friday 3 September) an increase of 21.8% effective from Friday 1 October 2021 for gas customers across Northern Ireland.

This year, every regulated energy company in Northern Ireland put up their prices, with further increases expected. This comes at a time when many households are struggling to meet their energy needs, with low income groups most at risk.

Significant price rises

Bright Energy has announced it is set to increase its electricity tariff by up to 20% from 9 September 2021. This is the second tariff increase announcement from the electricity supplier in three months.

Click Energy has announced it will be increasing electricity prices by 9% for customers on a variable rate tariff from 1 September 2021. This will see the typical bill paying customer needing to find up to an extra £55 per year, while customers with a keypad (PAYG) meter will see a yearly increase of about £56 per year.

Libraries NI has announced its commitment to a scams protection initiative, designed to empower adults learning computer and internet skills for the first time to stay safe from scams and know how to report them.

As consumers in Northern Ireland continue to do more online shopping due to the impact of COVID-19, the Consumer Council has compiled some top tips to help them avoid becoming victims of parcel delivery scams.