Sark’s independent Electricity Prices Control Commissioner has already launched a formal investigation into the two price hikes announced by SEL this week, which has pushed the island’s unit price up to 113.6p.
It is currently 49 p/kwh but Sark Electricity Limited will add a 40p per unit ‘legal levy’ to bills from 1 September and a 20p per unit levy to fight the EPC’s investigation into the ‘legal levy’.
Together, the 60p per unit price hike will see Sark residents and businesses electricity bills rise from Monday onwards.
SEL’s owner, Alan Witney-Price wrote to customers earlier this week explaining that the 40p per unit will be held by a third party and will be used to fight the legal battle he is having with Chief Pleas against its planned compulsory purchase of the utility.
He wrote that “SEL is now forced into a situation where the Company must mount a legal challenge against Chief Pleas move to seize its assets and remove its income stream”.
He said the additional money paid would be returned to customers if it was not spent during the legal challenge.
Mr Witney-Price then wrote to customers again yesterday, and that he had been told the EPC was looking at the legal levy and would consider if the new unit price is “reasonable”. He said he would “co-operate fully with his enquiries”.
He 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.
That 20p per unit charge will also be kept by Collas Crill to be used to fight any attempt by the EPC to force him to remove the 40p per unit levy.
The Electricity Price Commissioner has since confirmed he is investigating whether both of the two new charges are “fair and reasonable” and if not, Mr Witney-Price will be asked to remove them.
“SEL has now announced two material price increases in two days, and this results in the unit price increasing from 49 p/kwh to £113.6 p/kwh,” explained EPC, Shane Lynch.
“I intend to urgently conduct my formal investigation and to determine as soon as possible if the new price is fair and reasonable.
“This is not the first time that SEL has sought to hike prices,” he added.
“In the summer of 2024 SEL requested that the maximum unit price in the then price control order be increased from 54 p/kwh to £150 p/kwh. I allowed the price to increase to 56 p/kwh from November 2024.”
While the EPC cannot force Mr Witney-Price to back down from the looming price hikes, Mr Lynch has said that the law means he can only pass on to customers the “reasonable costs of responding to an investigation”.
Mr Lynch has also encouraged Sark residents and business owners to contact SEL directly to express their concerns about the price hikes, especially if it will leave them in financial difficulty heading into the autumn, with a resolution to the latest price increases unlikely before the end of September.
“I recognise that, on this occasion, such a price hike in September is likely to cause financial difficulty for many customers, in the absence of a price control order. I am not able to take any action until I have completed the statutory process and this is likely to take until the end of September at the earliest. In the meantime, I would encourage customers to discuss the matter with SEL if this is likely to cause them financial difficulty.”