A targeted technical consultation that will help to shape the final direction of the Guernsey States’ Electricity Strategy will be taking place imminently to gather the views and ask key questions of local stakeholders.
Consultees include those in the energy industry and business community.
Working to mitigate the effects of climate change is a global challenge. In May 2020, the States of Guernsey approved the island’s Energy Policy, which sets out objectives including decarbonisation, security and resilience of supply, and consumer value and choice.
One of the requirements of this policy was for the Committee for the Environment & Infrastructure to bring an updated Electricity Strategy to the States. This strategy will set out how those high-level objectives can be best met and balanced in the electricity sector and will provide a much-needed platform on which investment decisions can be made.
The aim of this strategy is to provide clear guidance to the electricity market on the requirements to meet policy objectives and to give a clear indication of how the market will operate in line with those objectives.
Primarily, it will set out the expectations for demand, security of supply requirements, the role of Guernsey Electricity and competition in the marketplace, financing the transition away from fossil fuels and options for supply in the short to medium term.
A series of energy industry-focused workshops have already taken place which has fed into the consultation documentation; key points raised as part of this engagement process are addressed.
Following conclusion of this technical consultation, further work will be done to determine the preferred pathway and to understand how the energy market will need to adapt as well as any possible delivery constraints. This will then feed into the Electricity Strategy, which will be finalised by the Committee for the Environment & Infrastructure and subsequently brought to the States for approval.
