A potential electricity agreement between the UK and EU could reduce wholesale prices in Northern Ireland by 20%. Northern Ireland's energy regulator John French stated that Brexit caused this increase by decoupling the Single Electricity Market from Great Britain.

The Single Electricity Market covers Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. It operated within the EU Internal Energy Market before Brexit, using shared software and rules for efficient trading across interconnectors. Post-Brexit decoupling made trading less efficient and more costly.

French said recoupling the markets would cut wholesale prices, which form half of consumer bills. He called the potential reduction a huge benefit.

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen issued a joint statement. They expressed commitment to ambitious cooperation and anticipated a UK-EU summit later this year to discuss an electricity deal.

Northern Ireland remains part of the UK but operates outside the GB electricity market. The island of Ireland lacks direct EU interconnection until a Cork-France link completes in 2028. Current EU electricity flows pass through the decoupled GB market.