|
 |
 | | | | | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| | You are in: UK: Northern Ireland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | | Friday, 10 May, 2002, 13:40 GMT 14:40 UK Lower NIE bills may lead to job losses  NIE says it cannot afford to reduce prices Northern Ireland Electricity has warned that 300 jobs could be lost under plans to cut electricity prices in Northern Ireland. NIE has been responding to proposals put forward as part of a five year review by the electricity regulator. The company has also warned of increased power cuts because it will not be able to make sufficient investment in its network. The Electricity Regulator wants to see bills fall by �27 a year for the average household. Review The company said it has invested heavily in improving lines throughout the province to cope with winter storms which left 50,000 people without power last year. However, under a review of NIE's charges, the company warns that this type of investment will have to be cut back. NIE said that over the next five years it wanted to spend more than �250m - but the industry regulator said less than �180m would be enough. The company said it would cost close to �300m to run the business over that time. The regulator says the figure should be �100m lower.
NIE spokesman Robin Greer said it was unfair to compare Northern Ireland prices to those in Britain. "We have no difficulty in taking a very tough and challenging review from the regulator, as long as it is arrived at fairly," he said. "What we think we are seeing is the cart being put before the horse - looking at a GB (Great Britain) average which is not a fair comparison." Similar outcome Electricity Regulator Douglas McIldoon said: "It's usual at this stage in a price control for the company that is being price controlled to engage in this degree of hysteria and misrepresentation." He added: "What I cannot understand is why NIE cannot get it into their heads that all we are asking them to do is to improve at the same rate as other companies in the United Kingdom. "We are not asking them to be better. They keep harping on about comparing them with other regions that are rural areas, like the Highlands of Scotland. "What we are saying is that on average, if people are improving at a particular rate across the United Kingdom, and ESB in the Republic, that the same thing should happen in Northern Ireland." The review comes around every five years. Last time it ended up in court and both sides are keen to avoid that this time. However, they are so far apart a similar outcome could be on the cards. | |
See also:  Internet links: The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites Top Northern Ireland stories now:  Links to more Northern Ireland stories are at the foot of the page. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Links to more Northern Ireland stories |
 | | ^^ Back to top News Front Page | World | UK | UK Politics | Business | Sci/Tech | Health | Education | Entertainment | Talking Point | In Depth | AudioVideo ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To BBC Sport>> | To BBC Weather>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- © MMIII|News Sources|Privacy  |
E-mail this story to a friend