To become a supplier in Northern Ireland you need to:

• Obtain a licence to supply - electricity suppliers in Northern Ireland are required to obtain a "Licence to Supply Electricity" under Article 10(1) of the Electricity (Northern Ireland) Order 1992. For information on obtaining a licence please visit the Utility Regulator website.
• Obtain access to the transmission system - This process is managed and administered by SONI as Transmission System Operator.  Access to the Transmission System involves meeting the terms of and executing a Transmission Use of System Agreement.  Please refer to the Transmission Use of System Charges page for further information on the above and links to the current version of the Statement of Charges document.

Suppliers under the terms of the TUoS Agreement are required to provide security cover for a total of five weeks of TUoS charges per customer. Suppliers will also need to maintain separate security cover for each of the DUoS agreements and the Trading and Settlement Code. 

To initiate this process please contact our Contracts and Settlement team at cas@soni.ltd.uk

• Obtain access, as required, to the distribution system - This involves meeting the terms of and executing a Distribution Use of System (DUoS) Agreement.  For information on accessing the distribution system refer to the NIE Networks website.
• Become a party to the Trading and Settlement Code - With the establishment of the Single Electricity Market in November 2007, the Single Electricity Market Operator (SEMO - a joint venture between EirGrid and SONI) is now the body with responsibility to operating the market. All electricity suppliers must be parties to the Trading and Settlement code through party and unit registration with SEMO. For further information see the SEMO website.