Inquiry into electricity prices

An inquiry into a 40% electricity price hike for business customers has been launched by the utility regulator.

The price of electricity for business users has risen substantially and they say there were not given enough notice.

The utility regulator met with business customers on Friday and said it would look into how suppliers communicated the change in charges.

The Consumer Council said there was "a lack of transparency in the electricity industry about price rises".

"Northern Ireland's business customers have the right to be concerned," said John French, the council's head of energy.

"The Consumer Council shares these concerns as it is more important than ever that businesses can plan ahead and the cost of electricity is an important element of this.

"We have already been speaking to energy suppliers about this issue and have written to the regulator expressing our concerns."

The regulator said it expected their inquiry to reach a conclusion in early 2010.