With over 700,000 customers, Power NI is by far and away the largest domestic supplier in Northern Ireland. The company generates energy through mostly non-renewable sources and doesn’t use any nuclear power. Power NI’s energy mix can be broken down as follows:
- Natural Gas 70.4%
- Coal 17.6%
- Peat 6.4%
- Renewable 3.4%
- Oil 1.7%
- Other 0.5%
Although only a small percentage of Power NI’s energy supply comes from renewable sources, the company is looking to promote efficient, climate-friendly energy management within the home. As such, they offer household insulation services, boiler maintenance and home micro-generation units, as well as providing free advice on how you can cut down on energy waste.
Tariffs for consumers
Power NI offer a number of different packages, with something to suit almost everyone. However, while the company caters for green and prepayment customers, they don’t provide any fixed rate packages, which also means that they don’t charge any deposits or cancellation fees.
Power NI’s standard tariff is called Home Energy, which provides customers with a number of options. Home Energy offers a variable rate for energy supply, with the option to receive paper bills or sign up for the company’s Energy Online service, which helps you manage your energy use with more accuracy. You’ll also receive a sizeable discount for paying by Direct Debit, although you can clear your balance by more traditional means as well.
Keypad is Power NI’s pay as you go service, which boasts over a quarter of a million customers across Northern Ireland. Unlike prepayment services offered by other UK suppliers, Keypad doesn’t penalise customers for choosing to pay up front. In fact, Power NI will give you a 2.5% discount off their standard rate for every unit of energy consumed, with no cap. You can top up your account online, over the phone, or at any Post Office, PayPoint or PayZone retailer, while Power NI will also lend you emergency credit if you’re caught short. The company has also recently launched a new Keypad smartphone app, allowing customers to top up on the move. The keypad itself is free to install, and comes with an energy monitor which helps you keep track of how much power you’re actually using. Keypad customers can sign up for a standard flat rate, an Economy 7 deal with different rates for day and night, or a Powershift service with three different rates that apply at different times of the day.
The company also offers an Economy 7 tariff to customers with a dual rate meter, which is perfect if you use a storage heater to keep your home warm. The Economy 7 tariff offers higher rates during the daytime, with very low rates available at night, which means you can recharge your storage heater while you’re safely tucked up in bed. Rates vary depending on how you pay, with discounts available for quarterly and monthly payment by Direct Debit.
Finally, Power NI offer an Eco Energy tariff, which replaces every unit you consume with supply from a renewable source. The tariff costs the same as Power NI’s standard Home Energy rate, so it doesn’t cost you extra to take the environmentally friendly option. However, as there are limited sources of renewable energy in Northern Ireland, the tariff operates on a first come first served basis, and there are currently around 25,000 customers across the country.