A proposed increase to Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) tariffs will be worth an extra £5,000/year to a typical scheme participant, MLAs have been told.

Sarah Bradley from the Department of the Economy said the tier one tariff, which applies for the first 1,314 hours of boiler usage, is proposed to increase from 2.1p/kW to 5.1p/kW.

A lower tier two tariff rate of 1p/KW is then proposed, which compares to no available tier two tariff at present, she explained.

“The reason we want to get it through by 1 November is to capture that winter period because that’s when the majority of heat gets used,” said Bradley.

The change will increase the annual cost of RHI from £5m to £15m, although it remains well within the available budget from the UK Treasury of £33m.

Speaking at Stormont on Wednesday, Bradley said it was still the NI Executive’s intention to shut down RHI to all existing participants, but she was not able to give details on the plan for closure.

“It is very much a work in progress at the minute. We are working through all the details,” she said.