The Northern Ireland Authority for Energy Regulation awarded Bord Gáis a licence to supply homes and businesses in the towns and cities near the two pipelines - Antrim, Armagh, Ballymena, Ballymoney, Banbridge, Craigavon, Derry, Limavady and Newry - where the local subsidiaries of Bord Gáis use the trading name of Firmus Energy.
On 1 December 2005, Firmus launched their first supply in Northern Ireland, to the large Michelin tyre factory in Ballymena.
Firmus Energy is also competing to supply gas and electricity to large industrial and commercial customers across Northern Ireland.
[4] In the autumn of 2009, a consortium of Bord Gáis Energy (Northern Ireland) and Storengy, a company of GDF Suez, undertook a seismic survey of land in the Larne area to determine if there are salt layers that could be used for the storage of natural gas.
[7] In January 2011, Firmus Energy launched an offer for domestic gas customers in and around Belfast, claiming to be 'at least 7.5% cheaper than Phoenix'.