// BBC BUSINESS NEWS — FINANZA
Firmus Energy customers face price increase
Customers in the Ten Towns area will see a 8.98% increase and 12.5% for Greater Belfast
Firmus Energy has announced an 8.98% price increase for customers in the Ten Towns area and 12.5% for Greater Belfast.
The Ten Towns new tariff will be effective from 1 October and equates to an extra £7 per month on the average bill for customers.
In greater Belfast, around 54,000 customers' new tariffs will be effective from 8 October and equates to an extra £12 per month.
They said the increase was "due to the increased cost of gas on the global energy markets caused by the prolonged conflict in the Middle East".
About 77,000 households and small businesses are in the Ten Towns area which includes Antrim, Armagh, Banbridge, Ballymena, Coleraine, Craigavon, Newry, Londonderry and more than 25 other towns and villages in the surrounding area,
Announcing the tariff change, Sharleen Winning, head of regulation at Firmus Energy, said they "cannot ignore the impact the situation in the Middle East is having on the cost of energy".
"Unfortunately this has left us with no option other than to increase our tariffs."
Winning said Firmus Energy have "held off for as long as we could in the hope of a resolution that would lead to a reduction in the global wholesale prices".
"We have demonstrated that when we are in a position to reduce tariffs, we do so without delay, and we hope to be able to do so again, once the global markets allow this."