New grant now available to help homes convert to natural gas

The ‘gas conversion grant’, which is funded by the Northern Ireland Executive and firmus energy, is designed to help tackle fuel poverty and allow more people across the province to benefit from a cheaper and more efficient fuel to heat their homes.

firmus energy has pledged to provide a £300[JL1]  grant to all households wishing to convert to natural gas within their network and the NI Executive will then contribute up to an additional £1000, dependent on income, to owner occupiers with an oil or LPG boiler that is at least 15 years old.  

Michael Scott, general manager for firmus energy visited towns in Northern Ireland to launch the scheme. Michael explained: “firmus energy now supplies 50,000 homeowners with natural gas across the province and we continue to extend the gas network across NI to allow more and more homeowners to switch from their more expensive fuel source. We know that fuel poverty is still a major issue in Northern Ireland and it is great that we can partner with the NI Executive to offer this grant which will allow further homes in Northern Ireland to convert to a more energy efficient natural gas heating system.

“Natural gas from firmus energy remains one of the cheapest ways to heat your home. In fact over the last year it has been on average around 30% cheaper than oil1. Oil boilers are also typically much less energy efficient and can be running at only 60% capacity, compared to a modern natural gas SEDBUK A boiler which can run at up to 100% efficiency2. This means that households could be losing up to 40p of fuel in every pound, which mounts up very quickly. With natural gas, there is also an option to use a ‘pay as you go’ meter making it easier to budget, ensuring that there is one less bill for householders to worry about. 

“We are delighted to be able to offer the £300 firmus energy contribution of the grant to anyone wanting to convert to natural gas regardless of their income, their old fuel type, the age of their boiler or whether they own or rent.  So everyone will be able to benefit to some degree from this initiative.”

Mayor Samuel Cole added: “We are happy to be able to support firmus energy and the NI Executive on this grant scheme at the launch today. The cost of heating your home is one of the top concerns for many of our constituents and so I welcome any initiative which will help to alleviate fuel poverty and will make it easier for households to budget and stay in control of their energy bills. I would urge anyone in [AREA] to consider taking advantage of this grant and converting to natural gas, especially if you have an old boiler which is in need of replacing anyway. It is important that householders take steps now to ensure that their home is as energy efficient as possible before our next winter sets in.”

All households in the firmus energy network who wish to convert to natural gas will qualify for the £300 grant from firmus energy. On top of that, the NI Executive is offering an income-based grant of up to £1000 to owner-occupiers with an oil or LPG boiler that is at least 15 years old. For those with a total household income of less than £20,000, the full £1000 grant is available and those with a household income between £20,000 - £39,999 will be eligible for £500.

If you would like to find out if you are eligible or for more information on converting to natural gas simply contact firmus energy on 08456 08 00 88 or visit www.firmusenergy.co.uk.