firmus energy has connected more than 1700 homes and businesses in the Coleraine and Portstewart areas to natural gas and as the company marked its eighth birthday at the end of 2013, it is also celebrating the connection of famous local diner and ice cream parlour, Morelli's, on Portstewart Promenade.
Damian Morelli, director of the company, commented: "We have been at this iconic location on the Promenade since 1927 and we are much busier in the summer but still open throughout the rest of the year and our staff can vary from six to 36 depending on the season. As well as our delicious iced creations, we also serve a full meal menu from hot breakfasts through to late night suppers and we are open until 10pm during peak season.
"With this in mind we wanted to save money where we could on our energy bills as we were powering our kitchen through bottled gas, so we contacted firmus energy who showed us the savings that could be made by switching to their fuel source. We decided to go ‘dual-fuel’ with firmus energy and they now also supply our electricity which is used to heat the shop.
"We have saved on our fuel bills since our switch but energy costs are always challenging for businesses so we look for extra benefits from our suppliers. We particularly like the fact that natural gas is so convenient and it is always available in the diner, 24/7, so we don’t need to worry about reordering. The customer service and ease of payment methods offered by firmus energy are also pluses as we are able to pay our bills online and have an overview of our usage at our fingertips."
Kevin Flanagan, business sales representative for firmus energy, added: "More and more local businesses are deciding to make the switch to natural gas in these difficult economic times. It is the lowest cost and most environmentally friendly of all the fossil fuels. We were delighted to switch what is no doubt one of Northern Ireland’s most famous ice-cream parlours, Morelli’s, to our dual-fuel option.
"As Portstewart Promenade and Morelli’s itself is located at the foot of a cliff, it presented some logistical challenges for installation but we worked out a plan to bring natural gas through the back of the parlour and our teams carried out their work to cause as little disruption to Morelli’s as possible."
Damian concluded: "We found the switch to firmus energy was very straightforward considering we are in a very awkward location and the switching teams were very helpful.
"Some of my family have also taken advantage of the shop converting to natural gas as they live in the apartments above which were also converted and they are delighted with the convenience and the savings that they have made. I am hoping it is piped out to where I live soon too!"
