SSE Airtricity has announced the highest rise in gas prices in its network for nearly 11 years.

Prices will increase by 39% from Friday April 1 amid rising wholesale costs.

The move will affect around 186,000 customers in Northern Ireland and has been described as the biggest rise in gas prices in the SSE Airtricity network since May 2011.

The Consumer Council said the increase will mean the annual gas bill of a typical household with a credit meter will go up by about £244.

Customers with a pre-payment gas meter (PAYG) will see their typical costs rise by around £241 per year.

SSE Airtricity general manager Andrew Greer said the cost of purchasing natural gas on the wholesale market has reached record highs.

“We understand this news will be unwelcome, if not unexpected, to our customers, given the extensive media focus on wholesale markets over the last six months,” he said.

“The cost of purchasing natural gas on the wholesale market has reached record highs this winter and, regrettably, a proportion of this must be reflected in our prices.”

Raymond Gormley, head of energy policy at the Consumer Council, said the supplier has been absorbing higher commodity gas prices for a number of months.

“This increase follows price rises in the Ten Towns gas network last month, increased grocery costs, increased home heating oil prices, and increased fuel costs,” he said.

“Therefore, many household purse strings are being stretched to the absolute limit.”

Mr Gormley said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is likely to increase the pressure on gas and oil supply, which in turn will further push up costs.

“As a result, energy prices could be volatile for a number of weeks and will remain high for the foreseeable future,” he said.

“This situation shows the importance of the Department for the Economy’s Energy Strategy that aims to tackle affordability in the long term and move us away from our dependence on fossil fuels.”

Mr Gormley welcomed support that SSE Airtricity has in place for vulnerable customers.

But he said all energy industry stakeholders, including Government policymakers, the Utility Regulator, companies, charities and the Consumer Council, “must continue to work together to develop sustainable solutions to help support those in need as the problem of high fuel prices will be with us for some time”.

– Consumers can get in touch with the Consumer Council for free independent advice by calling Freephone 0800 121 6022, emailing [email protected], or visiting https://www.consumercouncil.org.uk/