Northern Ireland Renewable Obligations Domestic Electricity Discount Scheme Direction, known publicly as the Household Electricity Discount Scheme.
Date published:
This publication contains the Direction and supporting documents for the Northern Ireland Renewable Obligations Domestic Electricity Discount Scheme (known publicly as Household Electricity Discount Scheme. These documents set out the requirements for electricity suppliers and NIE Networks to deliver the scheme across Northern Ireland.
Household Electricity Discount Scheme
This Direction requires electricity suppliers to apply discounts to eligible domestic electricity accounts from 6 October 2026. The discount reflects government funding equivalent to 75% of domestic Northern Ireland Renewables Obligation costs and support equivalent to the temporary six-month VAT reduction announced for Britain
Details
This Direction is made by the Department for the Economy under section 22 of the Energy Prices Act 2022.
The direction sets out:
- the legal requirement for domestic electricity suppliers to apply a single discount to domestic electricity accounts from 6 October 2026, in exchange for grant funding equivalent to 75% of the cost of the domestic Northern Ireland Renewables Obligation (NIRO) and the temporary six-month reduction in VAT to 0%;
- obligations for domestic electricity suppliers to comply with reporting and auditing requirements
- the terms under which domestic electricity suppliers will receive grant funding through the NIRO to Exchequer scheme, including the requirement for suppliers to execute a deed.
The documents published are:
- NIRO Domestic Electricity Discount Scheme (DEDS) Ministerial Direction