After having submitted its report to the Northern Ireland Authority for Utility Regulation on November 28, the Competition Commission (CC) has now published the final determination of its price control as well as licence conditions for Phoenix Natural Gas Ltd (PNGL).

With the CC decision marking the end of scuffle between Northern Ireland's Utility Regulator and Phoenix Gas over the pricing of gas in the future, the average household gas bills in Northern Ireland will witness a £11 increase a year.

The dispute between PNGL and the Utility Regulator essentially stemmed from the fact that while the former wanted a £24 per year rise in the customers' bills for 2012-2013; the latter wanted a reduction in the household bills by nearly £1 a year.

However, since the gas network is operated and maintained by Phoenix, the company said that the Utility Regulator's proposal would hamper its efforts to attract future investments into PNGL because it will not be able to generate enough profits.

With the issue finally having been referred to the CC, which has given its final verdict, the Utility Regulator's CEO Shane Lynch said: "We will now carefully consider the detail of the Competition Commission's final determination and any implications for the next Phoenix price control, which will be implemented from 2014."