To ask the Minister for the Economy, pursuant to AQW 18309/17-22, to detail the reason for Firmus Energy not extending their gas pipeline network into Portrush.

At present, Portrush lies outside Firmus Energy’s licensed development area. As such, any decision to extend the gas network to the town is subject to the Utility Regulator’s approval and must be demonstrated to be economically viable on the basis of potential gas loads. To do otherwise would risk increasing gas prices as the cost of providing new gas networks is recovered from consumers through their gas bills over periods of up to 40 years.

Firmus Energy advise that the economics of extending the gas network to Portrush currently fall outside the Utility Regulator’s acceptable appraisal threshold. The company also advises that the cost of laying new gas mains to serve Portrush does not compare favourably with the number of properties which could benefit from natural gas, and this is exacerbated by insufficient business gas loads and lower anticipated levels of domestic gas usage due to some of the housing stock being used as holiday homes.