Gas bills to rise another £5 per month on average

Thursday 03 November 2022

Gas bills will go up by 5% from Monday as the island’s provider is forced to raise prices due to global volatility.

Island Energy – which changed its name from Jersey Gas in May – says that most domestic customers will see their bills go up by £4-5 a month.

The international gas market has been directly impacted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which – together with subsequent sanctions – has severely restricted supply.

Islands Energy Group CEO Jo Cox said: “This is a difficult decision to take, particularly at the start of winter, but a price rise is necessary given the continued impact of the energy crisis on the price and security of energy worldwide.

“A 5% market-linked increase is reflective of continuing unprecedented high cost of natural gas and the knock-on effect that has on the supply of LPG, which is the type of gas supplied in Jersey. We have seen the market improving in recent weeks and hopefully this will feed through to the wider market.”

Last September, the price of gas increased permanently by 4.5% and, in addition, Island Energy introduced a temporary increase of 15.2%, which is still in place.

The group said that last year’s hike was no longer sufficient to cover the increased commodity costs seen in recent months.

Pictured: Island Energy Group CEO Jo Cox: "This is a difficult decision to take, particularly at the start of winter."

Mrs Cox said: “The price of wholesale gas has remained high throughout the last 12 months as energy markets react to a variety of complex influences including a significant number of geo-political events across the world. 

“A wide range of factors affect supply chains in a variety of ways, keeping the cost of many things that are crucial to the supply of gas very high.

“While 5% is a relatively small increase in the current global context, we understand that news of any increases for customers may cause concern. I

“Island Energy runs a Priority Customer Care scheme that can offer payment plans, ‘Comfort Checks’ for customers at home, and further support if needed. Customers can sign up for this scheme through our website or they can call us on 755500.”

In August, Island Energy said they had no plans to increase gas prices in Jersey - but the situation depended on market conditions and the price of LPG.