NI Electricity Price Rises, July and August 2026: Power NI, SSE Airtricity and Click Energy

Northern Ireland households have absorbed three electricity price rises in two months. Power NI and Click Energy both moved on 1 July 2026, and SSE Airtricity followed on 1 August 2026. Between them those three suppliers cover the large majority of NI homes.

Here is what actually changed, what it costs you, and what it does to the case for solar.

What Changed, and When

Supplier	Increase	Effective	Typical impact
Power NI	+6.2%	1 July 2026	~£5/month, about £64/year (credit), £62/year (keypad)
Click Energy	+11%	1 July 2026	close to £100/year
SSE Airtricity	+6.2%	1 August 2026	around £76/year

Power NI

Power NI is Northern Ireland’s largest electricity supplier, so its tariff moves affect more households than any other. The 6.2% increase from 1 July 2026 was approved by the Utility Regulator, which sets the framework Power NI’s regulated tariff operates within.

On the average NI household usage of 3,200 kWh a year, the rise adds roughly £5 per month: about £64 a year on a credit meter and £62 a year on a keypad meter. Power NI attributed it to sustained global gas prices alongside higher network and market-related charges.

This was Power NI’s second increase inside twelve months, following a 4% rise in October 2025.

Click Energy

Click Energy, the smallest of Northern Ireland’s five household electricity suppliers, applied the steepest July increase at 11% from 1 July 2026, adding close to £100 a year to a typical bill. Click Energy had already raised prices by 9.5% in April 2026, making this its second rise of the year and leaving it the most expensive unit rate in the NI market.

If you are a Click Energy customer and have not compared alternatives recently, this is the one rise on this page that genuinely justifies checking a switch. The Consumer Council for Northern Ireland runs an independent price-comparison tool.

SSE Airtricity

SSE Airtricity, the second-largest supplier, matched Power NI with a 6.2% rise from 1 August 2026, adding around £76 a year to a typical annual bill.

The Bigger Picture: Every NI Supplier Has Raised Prices

The striking thing is not any single increase. It is that no Northern Ireland electricity supplier has cut prices across 2025 and 2026. Share Energy went up 26% in April, Click Energy twice (9.5% in April, 11% in July), Budget Energy 4% in January, and both Power NI and SSE Airtricity have now raised prices twice inside twelve months.

For the full supplier-by-supplier history and current unit rates across the whole NI market, see our NI electricity prices comparison, which is kept updated as tariffs change. This page covers the July and August 2026 round specifically.

This matters for switching. When one supplier is out of line, switching is a straightforward win. When every supplier moves in the same direction within months of each other, the gap between them narrows and the saving from switching shrinks with it. Click Energy is the current exception, sitting well above the rest.

What This Does to Solar Payback in NI

Solar economics in Northern Ireland are driven by one number: what you would otherwise pay to import a unit of electricity. Every kWh your panels generate and you use in the house is a kWh you do not buy.

After the July and August rises, Power NI and SSE Airtricity sit at roughly 28-31p per kWh.

A typical 4kW NI system generates around 3,400 kWh a year. At a realistic 50% self-consumption, that is about 1,700 kWh used directly in the home:

Unit rate	Value of 1,700 kWh self-consumed
27p (before the rises)	~£459
29p (post-rise, mid-range)	~£493
31p (post-rise, upper end)	~£527
38.8p (Click Energy)	~£660

So the rises added roughly £35 to £70 a year to what the same solar system is worth, without a single panel changing. That is the mechanism worth understanding: solar does not get better, but the alternative gets worse.

The other side of the ledger is export. Note that the Smart Export Guarantee is Great Britain legislation and does not extend to Northern Ireland. NI suppliers pay for exported solar voluntarily, typically 5p to 8p per kWh, which is why self-consumption matters far more here than export does. Our guide to solar export payments in NI covers the current rates.

One more change already scheduled

Looking further out, the composition of an NI electricity bill is due to change again. The Department for the Economy has set policy for the Renewable Electricity Price Guarantee (REPG), with a first auction in early 2027. It is a scheme for large generators (expected to require projects above 5MW) and it funds nothing domestic, but it will be paid for through a fixed levy on electricity bills that runs in both directions: billpayers cover top-ups when wholesale prices sit below the contract level, and get money back when they sit above it. Our NI electricity prices guide explains how it is expected to work.

The point for a household is not to predict it. It is that the parts of your bill you do not control keep being rewritten, and the part you generate yourself does not.

The cost of your own electricity does not move

A £7,000 system generating 3,400 kWh a year produces about 85,000 kWh over a 25-year life. That works out at roughly 8p per kWh, fixed at the point of installation.

Grid electricity has now moved three times in two months. The 8p does not move at all. That gap, not any subsidy, is the entire financial argument for solar in Northern Ireland, and it widens every time a supplier writes to you.

What To Do Now

1. Check your unit rate on your latest bill. It is the figure every solar saving calculation is measured against, and it has probably changed since you last looked.
2. If you are with Click Energy, compare. At close to 39p per kWh you are paying materially more than the market, and switching is the fastest saving available to you.
3. Do not wait for a grant. There is no NI scheme that funds domestic solar. What every household gets is 0% VAT, in place until 31 March 2027. Our NI solar grants guide sets out exactly what is and is not available.
4. Compare installer quotes. Prices for the same specification routinely differ by more than £1,000 between NI installers. Compare quotes here.

Rising electricity prices are not something any NI household controls. How exposed you are to the next round is.

Figures verified against supplier announcements and the Utility Regulator as of 5 August 2026. Check the Consumer Council price comparison tool for live rates before switching.