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The Education Authority in Northern Ireland has instructed schools to reduce energy usage by turning off lights when natural daylight is available and decreasing heating times, including advising staff and students to wear more clothes if it's cold. The EA expects total school gas bills to rise by 60%, from £10.7 million to £17 million, and electricity bills by 5% to £25.1 million by March 2027 due to rising energy costs influenced by geopolitical events such as the US-Israel war with Iran. School principals highlight challenges in significantly reducing energy consumption without compromising educational quality or student welfare.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-07,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
The Education Authority (EA) in Northern Ireland has instructed staff and pupils at schools to "wear more clothes" if it is cold to cut heating bills due to rising energy costs. The EA warned that school gas and electricity bills are set to increase by £8m by March 2027, with total school gas bills expected to rise by 60% from £10.7m to £17m, and electricity bills by 5% from £23.8m to £25.1m. The EA cited the impact of recent geopolitical events, such as the US-Israel war with Iran, as a factor behind these cost increases. This directive aims to mitigate the financial strain on schools while recognizing the need to maintain some level of comfort for students and staff.
Written for “Energy Bills Rise Advice Schools” on 2026-10-07,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political
question, so it has no leaning score. That is an
answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly
or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it
anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political
position.
No political leaning scored for article 62007 · logged 2026-10-07
- Published
Staff and pupils at schools across Northern Ireland have been told to "wear more clothes" if it is cold in order to cut heating bills.
asserted
it → publish → bills
Schools have been told by the Education Authority (EA) to reduce heating and lighting "wherever possible".
asserted
Schools → tell → heating
The authority has said that school gas and electricity bills are set to rise by about £8m by March 2027.
asserted
bills → say → March
The EA has written to school heads warning that increasing costs will affect school energy bills.
asserted
costs → write → bills
Rising energy costs are already affecting households across Northern Ireland.
asserted
costs → rise → Ireland
The letter from the EA to head teachers said that "recent geopolitical events are expected to have a substantial impact on energy costs across the Education Authority (EA) during the 2026/27 financial year".
asserted
events → say → year
It said that total school gas bills were expected to go up by 60% from £10.7m to £17m by March 2027.
asserted
bills → say → March
Meanwhile, total school electricity bills are expected to rise by 5% from £23.8m to £25.1m by March 2027.
asserted
bills → expect → March
"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," the EA said.
asserted
EA → give → consumption
Among the measures the authority has suggested to schools are cutting heating use by an hour a day and switching off classroom lights to use natural daylight instead.
Staff and pupils have also been advised to "wear more clothes" rather than turn the heating thermostat up if it is cold.
But principals have told BBC News NI that it is not straightforward for schools to cut heating costs.
uncertain
schools → suggest → costs
The principal of Tullygally Primary School in Craigavon, Kirsty Logan-Hall, said that the school was "committed to promoting responsible energy consumption and regularly reinforce good practice with staff and pupils".
asserted
school → say → staff
"However, our ability to achieve significant reductions in energy usage is constrained by the nature of our estate," she said.
asserted
she → achieve → estate
"The school operates from an older building which presents inherent energy efficiency challenges.
asserted
which → operate → challenges
"In addition, our site is particularly spread out due to the accommodation and operational requirements associated with our specialist provision.
asserted
site → spread → provision
"This necessitates the heating, lighting and ongoing use of multiple areas across the site throughout the school day to ensure appropriate learning environments, accessibility and pupil welfare.
asserted
This → necessitate → environments
"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.
asserted
It → recognise → needs
Meanwhile, the principal of Holy Evangelists Primary School in Dunmurry, Claire Robinson, said that energy costs were "ferocious".
asserted
costs → say → Dunmurry
"We can't play around with the heating," she said.
asserted
she → play → heating
Parts of the school are relatively new and have underfloor heating.
asserted
Parts → have → heating
"Our classrooms can't drop below a certain temperature so we have to keep the heating on," Robinson said.
asserted
Robinson → drop → heating
"We can't just turn the heating off in some areas of the school."
asserted
We → turn → school
Robinson said that although the school was relatively new it had been given an energy efficiency rating of D due to the costs involved in running the heating system.
asserted
it → say → system
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