Derry and Strabane council projects £1.5m additional energy costs
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Financial pressures could impact council striking rates next year
Derry City and Strabane District Council is projecting additional costs of more than £1.5m to cover soaring energy costs this financial year.
The council estimates an extra £980,000 will be needed for electricity, gas and oil for its nine leisure centres.
It also projects an extra £560,000 will be needed to cover the cost of fuel for its fleet of council-owned vehicles.
It creates an "extremely challenging position for the 23/24 rates process", a council spokesperson has said.
The spokesperson said the local authority had managed to mitigate the impact of these costs this year through "contingency reserves and expenditure control".
Soaring costs are impacting the running nine leisure centres throughout the city and district
They added that a finance working group has been set up to help address this issue.
This group will ensure budgets will be reviewed in detail and all possible saving opportunities be explored in advance of the council striking the rate for next year, the spokesperson said.