Dickson Welcomes SSE Airtricity’s Cost-of-Living Support Measures

East Antrim Alliance MLA, Stewart Dickson, has welcomed an update from the Director of SSE Airtricity, which outlines the recent steps they have taken in response to the current cost of living crisis.

SSE Airtricity is one of Northern Ireland’s energy suppliers, providing electricity and natural gas to almost 400,000 home and business customers across the region.

Mr Dickson said: “I was pleased to see the steps SSE Airtricity has taken to help the most vulnerable cope with the cost of living crisis. However, what is painfully clear as a result of this crisis, is that only a green future will protect us from something like this happening again.

“We need to be focused on expanding our clean infrastructure, incentivising decarbonisation towards our Net Zero target, prioritise retrofitting of homes, and support the continued growth of renewable energy alternatives”.

SSE Airtricity has a £21 million fund aimed at helping the most in need. The fund is comprised of the following measures:

1. Price promise: This promise holds energy costs at June 2022 levels until the end of March 2023, for financially vulnerable customers. This scheme affects up to 63,000 customers across the island of Ireland. The SSE Airtricity team have contacted these eligible customers directly to advise them of this available support.

2. Discretionary Fund: SSE Airtricity have established a £900,000 discretionary fund to provide direct support to customers in difficulty. Members of the SSE Airtricity team are contacting eligible customers in relation to this scheme. Equally, any customer experiencing difficulty can contact them.

3. Charity Partnership to Fight Against Poverty and Social Inequality: SSE Airtricity has donated €1 million in cash on an all-island basis to the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul, to be used to directly support vulnerable cohorts who are struggling with the cost of living. Additionally, SSE Airtricity have donated £1 million to Bryson Charitable Organisation; a trusted NI charity partner who will deliver supports directly within the community.

4. Tackling Fuel Poverty - Home Energy Upgrade Scheme: SSE Airtricity are committed to tackling one of the root causes of energy poverty, by providing improved energy efficiency and heat retention measures for homes. With this in mind, they have committed to delivering home energy upgrades for up to 600 vulnerable households across the island of Ireland, at no cost to them.

If you are concerned about your energy costs, it is best to contact your energy company directly and they will work with you to try and find a solution.