David Strahan, General Manager of Phoenix Supply Ltd, said:
"We can confirm that we have now entered a period of formal consultation with the Utility Regulator, the Consumer Council for Northern Ireland and the Department for Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETI), in relation to the regulated tariffs for Phoenix Supply's domestic and small industrial and commercial customers."
Mr Strahan commented on the differences between setting tariffs in Northern Ireland compared to Great Britain:
"Any change to our tariff requires the approval of the Utility Regulator, and is only granted after a detailed examination of our costs. In addition, there is a period of formal consultation with the Utility Regulator, the Consumer Council and DETI. In Great Britain, gas suppliers are not required to seek the approval of the Regulator nor conduct a period of consultation. These important differences help ensure natural gas customers in Northern Ireland are fully represented and are among the most protected on these islands."
Commenting on the reason for the current review of tariffs Mr Strahan concluded:
"While wholesale gas costs have continued to increase to levels beyond those at the time of our previous tariff review, the outcome of the current consultation process is not something we can speculate on at this stage."