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Gas Companies In, Oil Companies Out
After levying a 52% price increase on their customers in the space of 4 months, Phoenix Gas are due to lose their monopoly on gas supply in the Belfast area, it was announced today. At the same time, numerous oil companies (notbaly Esso) are apparently pulling out of the Northern Ireland market due to reduced demand, blamed on smuggling from and cheaper prices in the Irish Republic, and supermarkets using petrol as a loss-leader.
Follow up:
I have a pay-as-you-go type gas supply and it definitely seems like top-ups are becoming more and more frequent - moreso than you'd expect simply because it's winter. Meanwhile, customers on the mainland have been spared the immediate price increases which have been blamed on the rising worldwide cost of gas itself, with British Gas absorbing some of the costs in the short-term.
The loss of the monopoly will allow other gas providers to compete with Phoenix in Belfast for the first time, hopefully leading to lower prices for consumers - like the case of Firmus Energy, who supply gas to the north Antrim area and offer customers cheaper prices than Phoenix at present as part of a market-penetration campaign.
I for one can't wait - us poor students can't afford the high prices now being levied by Phoenix for much longer, and I'm sure pensioners and others on low incomes are finding themselves similarly surprised at how much they're spending just to keep warm.