Northern Ireland's Education Authority meets a 60% school gas rise with a request to use less

Most of the increase is gas. On the line items in the EA's letter, combined school energy spending rises from £34.5m to £42.1m ^[17]. That is an increase of £7.6m, which the authority rounds to about £8m ^[3]. Gas accounts for £6.3m of it, roughly 83% ^[16][18]. Electricity is still the bigger bill but adds only £1.3m ^[19].

Those figures set the size of the request. Suppose the £17m gas forecast assumes schools keep using as much gas as they do now. Then holding gas spend at £10.7m would need a cut in use of about 37% ^[4][20]. Holding the combined bill flat would take about 18% off both fuels together ^[21]. The EA put its request in general terms. "Given the scale of the anticipated cost increases, we are asking all schools to review their energy usage and identify opportunities to reduce consumption wherever possible," it said ^[8]. The reporting does not say how much the authority expects its suggested measures to save, or whether it has asked for extra money to cover the gap.

The objection comes from the people who would make the cuts. "It is important to recognise that there is limited scope for reducing energy consumption without adversely impacting the quality of provision, staff working conditions or the wellbeing of pupils, including those with additional needs," said Kirsty Logan-Hall, principal of Tullygally Primary School in Craigavon ^[12].

Claire Robinson, principal of Holy Evangelists Primary School in Dunmurry, called energy costs "ferocious" ^[15]. "Our classrooms can't drop below a certain temperature so we have to keep the heating on," she said ^[13].

So far the EA's answer to them is the phrase "wherever possible" ^[1]. Each school is asked to review its own usage ^[8]. Heads therefore decide, one building at a time, how far running hours and room temperatures can come down.

The forecast covers the 2026/27 financial year, which ends in March 2027 ^[7][4]. A request to use less comes first. If usage falls by less than prices rose, the shortfall shows up in this year's figures. The EA would then have to say how much extra money it needs.

As evidence that public bodies will meet war-driven energy costs by using less, the letter is one authority's first public response. It records that the EA's first reported step was to ask for lower consumption ^[8], and says nothing about whether money will follow later. In my view the 37% figure ^[20] is the yardstick. The further actual savings fall short of it, the more of the £6.3m gas rise has to be found from budgets ^[16].