Cheaper electricity prices have moved a step closer in Northern Ireland with the launch of proposals for electricity trades across the new Moyle Interconnector with Scotland and the existing link with the Republic. Mr Douglas McIldoon, the North's electricity regulator, said the proposals, due to come in to operation next April, would create an "open and transparent" trading model. Current electricity prices in Northern Ireland are on average higher than corresponding tariffs in other parts of the UK and the Republic. This is largely due to high generation costs which are in turn passed on to domestic and commercial users.