Economy Minister Dr Caoimhe Archibald has unveiled changes to how new electricity grid connections are charged, aiming to make them fairer and more affordable for rural businesses and families.

Reinforcement costs needed to increase local network capacity — previously paid by individual applicants — will now be socialised across all consumers and recovered over a longer period. The move, announced during a visit to FP McCann LTD's new automated bagging facility in Knockloughrim, is intended to remove a significant barrier to rural investment and support regional growth.

Dr Caoimhe Archibald said: "The existing connection policy is unfair to rural communities, which shoulder the burden of reinforcement costs.

"Sharing these costs will make it easier for rural businesses to invest in productivity improvements and job creation, strengthening regional balance. It will also help reduce costs for rural families seeking to build new homes in their local communities. And by increasing investment in renewable energy, fairer connection costs will lessen our reliance on expensive fossil fuels and help us to move to cheaper and more sustainable energy sources.

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"This new policy also brings us into line with the rest of Ireland and Britain, making the north a more competitive destination for businesses investment and job creation."

Welcoming the decision, FP McCann's Managing Director, Hugh McCann, said the change addresses a longstanding imbalance in grid connection charges that has hindered rural industrial growth. He said: "A more equitable connection charging system will unlock investment opportunities across Northern Ireland, supporting job creation and economic development in rural areas historically disadvantaged by infrastructure costs."

The policy follows a joint Call for Evidence with the Utility Regulator in 2023 and a consultation published in January 2025, which examined options to increase the socialisation of reinforcement costs. Most respondents supported the Department’s preferred approach of full socialisation for distribution network reinforcement. The decision applies only to reinforcement elements for connections to the distribution network and does not cover the transmission network, which is treated differently. Such reinforcement can range from thousands to millions of pounds depending on local grid capacity and the scale of the connection. NIE Networks will contact applicants with existing cases that include reinforcement components.