Bright Energy, who entered the Northern Ireland electricity market in November 2021, have announced they are increasing prices from 26th June 2021.
No doubt this will be unwelcome news for customers, as many continue to spend increased time at home and using more electricity due to ongoing Covid-19 restrictions.
What does the price increase mean for customers?
Bright Energy announced it will be increasing electricity prices from 26th June 2021. This will see the typical bill pay customer paying an extra £41 a year and keypad customer paying an extra £26 per year.
Bright’s new tariff rates compared to their previous rates are shown below:
Bill Pay (24Hr)
| Tariff Rate (inc Vat) |
Standing Charge (pence per day) |
Annual Bill* | |
| Old rate (as of 17th Nov 20) |
15.202 p/kWh | 11.19 | £527.30 |
| New rate (as of 26th June 21) |
16.602 p/kWh | 10.27 | £568.75 |
Keypad (24Hr)
| Tariff Rate (inc Vat) |
Standing Charge (pence per day) |
Annual Bill* | |
| Old rate (as of 17th Nov 20) |
16.171 p/kWh | 12.10 | £561.64 |
| New rate (as of 26th June 21) |
16.718 p/kWh | 14.30 | £587.75 |
For current Bright customers, the price increase will come into effect from 26th June. New customers who switch to bright from will be on the new rates once their switch has completed.
What have Bright Energy said…
Commenting on the price increase Bright Energy have stated that,”We’ve been watching the energy market carefully and unfortunately wholesale costs have remained much higher than usual following a year of uncertainty. As a result of these rising costs, other suppliers have already increased their prices or are likely to do so soon. We’ve held off for as long as possible, however we now need to increase our prices.”
Who is Bright Energy?
Bright is a relatively new supplier providing electricity to customers right across Ireland. Although they may be a new energy supplier the people behind Bright have many years’ experience working across the energy market in Ireland.
Bright Energy is a partnership between two local family businesses Evermore Energy and The Maxol Group.
What is the Bright tariff offer?
Bright offer one variable rate tariff to all their customers. Because there is only one tariff all customers will always be on the best rate offered by the company.
Variable rate tariffs do just what their name suggests: they vary. This means the price you pay can increase and decrease in line with wholesale costs and other charges. And as wholesale costs have increased significantly over recent months Bright have said they have no option but to pass these through to customers.
However, should wholesale costs fall we would expect these to also be passed through to customers. Bright customers aren’t tied into any year-long contract, so if you sign up and feel like there’s better value to be had elsewhere, you can leave at any time and not be hit with an early exit penalty. Those who are environmentally conscious will be pleased to know that Bright to provide only 100% green electricity too.
Switch and save
If you are looking to offset the price increase the quickest and easiest way to do so is to compare suppliers and switch to a cheaper deal with Power to Switch. On average people who switched using Power to Switch have saved £143 off their electricity bill. We compare all tariffs and deals across all electricity suppliers to save you money. Switching is quick, hassle-free and means you keep more money in your pocket – you don’t even have to tell your old supplier you are leaving!
For more information, advice and support on energy issues visit Power to Switch or follow us on Facebook or Twitter.
* Based on standard variable rate tariff and 3,200 kWh annual usage
