Just a day after announcing that he was adding a 40p per unit ‘legal levy’ to everyone’s bills, the owner of Sark Electricity has said he’s going to put an additional 20p per unit charge on them too.
SEL was charging everyone around 50p per unit earlier this year – meaning everyone’s bills will more than double when the new charges come in on 1 September.
Alan Witney-Price had said the 40p per unit ‘legal levy’ was being implemented to raise cash to fund a defence against the planned compulsory purchase of SEL by Chief Pleas.
That announcement yesterday sparked an immediate response from Sark’s Electricity Price Commissioner, who said he is now instigating a price review.
Mr Witney-Price announced to his customers on Wednesday that the EPC will consider if the new unit price is “reasonable” and said he would “co-operate fully with his enquiries”.
However, Mr Witney-Price also said that he needed to raise cash to fund a ‘2025 EPC Price Consulation’ with the additional 20p per unit charge also being levied from 1 September.
Mr Witney-Price is fighting the compulsory purchase of his company – the only electricity provider in Sark – because he does not think Chief Pleas is capable of looking after the grid and network.
He has previously stated that Chief Pleas has undervalued SEL and that its interference in his private business has caused other opportunities for him to sell it to collapse.
Now Chief Pleas is pursuing the compulsory purchase, with an option to go to court to force the sale if Mr Witney-Price does not work with the government to agree the change of ownership, he has taken steps to ensure he can afford to mount his own legal challenges.
He has denied the 60p per unit charges being added to electricity bills from September is any form of revenge against his customers.
“This could not be further from the truth,” he said.