Economy Minister, Dr , has today published a
written statement updating the Assembly on the Utility
Regulator's (UR's) consultation of the Electricity Guaranteed
Standards of Service (GSS).
Under the current GSS, a severe weather exemption was applied by
NIE Networks in the wake of Storm Éowyn. This meant payments
could not be made to many households left without electricity.
In the statement the Minister said: “Currently these
standards allow the electricity distribution company – NIE
Networks – to apply for an exemption in cases of severe weather
events. This exemption cannot be overruled by
government.
“This issue was brought into sharp relief by Storm Éowyn
which left many households without electricity. The Utility
Regulator is carrying out a fresh consultation on a range of GSS
issues and it will include options for payments in severe weather
conditions, along with the likely costs of those
options.”
The written statement includes detail of the timeframe for the
consultation, which will be published in the week commencing
27 October 2025.
The Utility Regulator will offer their Decision Paper and draft
regulations to the Department for the Economy in March 2026.
The Minister also highlighted the smaller population size of the
north when facing these events, adding that, with a smaller
population than Britain, the cost of payments after a major storm
here would be shared among fewer people, meaning the cost to each
consumer would be greater, and that the administrative costs of
any scheme could potentially also be relatively high.
The Minister concluded: “NIE Networks have commenced a
strategic review of network resilience and its response to severe
weather events.”
Notes to Editors:
1. The Minister's Written Statement can be accessed from the
Department's website at: https://www.economy-ni.gov.uk/articles/written-statement-northern-ireland-assembly-review-electricity-standards-performance-guaranteed-overall-standards-performance-29-july-2025
2. In January 2025, the region experienced one of the worst
storms in its history, Storm Éowyn, with more than 285,000
premises (homes and businesses) losing supply.
3. Following the storm, a working group was established as a
response to the Executive's call for compensation payments to be
made. The Utility Regulator, NIE Networks and Department
representatives were asked to explore how compensation,
recoverable from electricity bills, might be paid, what amount
would be paid and when it would be paid. The working group
concluded that compensation could not be paid under the existing
legislative and regulatory framework.
4. In Action 14 of the Energy Strategy Action Plan 2025, the
Utility Regulator committed to consulting on amendments to the
Electricity Guaranteed Standards of Service, including in
relation to incidents of adverse weather.
