SSE is the second largest energy provider across the island of Ireland. The company supplies electricity and gas to 810,000 household and business accounts in the Republic of Ireland (ROI) and Northern Ireland (NI) under its SSE Airtricity (previously Airtricity) brand. The new SSE Airtricity brand leverages the scale of SSE’s investment so far in Ireland while building on the strong brand presence and heritage of Airtricity as Ireland’s greenest energy provider. SSE Airtricity delivers distinct characteristics to Ireland’s retail energy markets:
- it provides Ireland’s greenest energy supply, with around 40% of the electricity it supplies to customers on an all-island basis coming from renewable sources;
- it delivers award-winning customer service including a particular focus on supporting vulnerable customers; and
- it provides customers with an award-winning online/digital/mobile platform from where around 60% of all customer interactions are performed.
At 31 March 2014, SSE Airtricity had a 21% share by customer numbers of the total combined gas and electricity market on the island, up from just 1% when it first entered Ireland’s competitive domestic energy supply market in 2009. SSE Airtricity is the only energy supply brand to operate in each of the competitive gas and electricity markets across the island:
- Northern Ireland (gas): SSE Airtricity is the regulated supplier of natural gas to 120,000 household and business accounts in the Greater Belfast area - approximately 75% of gas customers in Northern Ireland. The setting of SSE Airtricity’s regulated gas prices, including any changes to those prices, requires the formal approval of Northern Ireland’s Utility Regulator under a defined annual Price Control review process. On 1 April 2013 SSE Airtricity’s regulated gas prices increased by 8.5% following approval by the Utility Regulator. In February 2014 SSE Airtricity announced that it would hold regulated prices for its domestic and small business customers at current levels until the next interim Price Control review by the Regulator in October 2014. This means that SSE Airtricity’s gas customers in NI will enjoy stable prices for a period of at least 18 months since the company last changed its tariffs. It also demonstrates the price stability delivered to its NI gas customers since it acquired Phoenix Supply Ltd. in June 2012.
- Northern Ireland (electricity): in this regulated electricity market, SSE Airtricity increased its prices by 17.8% from 1 July 2013. This followed Regulator-approved changes to the regulated electricity tariff and followed a decrease of similar proportions nine months previously, in October 2012. SSE Airtricity echoed the view of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister that it wanted to see greater stability in NI electricity pricing.
- Republic of Ireland: SSE Airtricity increased its gas prices by 2% from 1 October 2013 following an increase in regulated gas prices approved by the Republic’s Commission for Energy Regulation. In the deregulated electricity market the company announced a 3.5% increase in its domestic prices from 1 November 2013 as a result of sustained rises in networks costs and wholesale prices.
SSE Airtricity is committed to making energy more affordable for vulnerable electricity and gas customers. In the Republic, where Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) meters are an emerging solution to customer debt, the company has installed 20,000 PAYG meters. It also offers its most-in-need customers the cheapest available PAYG tariff in the market.
SSE Airtricity also leads the market in providing support to indebted customers and was an early adopter of a range of budgeting and technology solutions. As the industry leader, SSE Airtricity recently prepared a supplier code of practice in partnership with the Irish Government, Regulator and other suppliers. This code sets the standard for all market participants in assisting customers experiencing difficulty in paying their energy bills.