The price of electricity in Sark could be about to fall.
Households and businesses currently pay 69p per kilowatt/hour, making it one of the most expensive tariffs in the world.
The island’s new Electricity Price Control Commissioner says, having studied the market, he believes a rate of 45p per unit would be ‘fair’, though he acknowledges, based on current usage, it wouldn’t provide investors in Sark Electricity Limited (SEL) with a ‘reasonable return’.
Anthony White took up his new role last month. He said: “As Commissioner, my task is to determine whether your electricity prices are reasonable. I will do this by estimating what a reasonably efficiently run company would need to charge if it is to make a reasonable return on investment. I think that this is the best way to be fair to both consumers and Sark Electricity Limited.”
He’s begun a consultation process to gather views on his proposals. His theory is that if prices drop, demand will increase, and therefore a 45p per unit rate would be viable for SEL.
Sark Electricity Limited’s fixed costs are around £350,000 a year, with the addition of the variable cost of importing fuel to power the diesel engines. He’s working on a plan that would see investors getting an annual return of at least £150,000.
You can read his complete consultation here and offer your views on it here.
