Sark's electricity price set to rise next month

The price of electricity in Sark is set to hit 70p per unit from July.

Alan Witney-Price, managing director of Sark Electricity (SEL), said the increase was because he was removing his "personal fuel subsidy".

The current price per kilowatt hour (kWh) in the island, which has a population of about 400 people, is 56p.

The electricity regulator said the "price rise is deeply concerning to all reliant on SEL for their electricity".

The current price in the UK for electricity for a typical customer is capped at 28p per kWh, according to the industry watchdog Ofgem.

Sark's Independent Price Control Commissioner Dr Anthony White, said global rises for diesel fuel would have increased prices, but "Sark Electricity should have taken action sooner to reduce its reliance on diesel fuel".

Earlier this year, an independent report by Energypeople described Sark's current electricity network as consisting of "largely time expired assets", which were described as "old" and "obsolete".

In a letter to customers, Mr Witney-Price said he had asked Sark's Policy and Finance committee "to implement a support package" similar to other governments to deal with the cost of living crisis, but he said he had not received a response.

He added he would now be reviewing the company's pricing policies, with a new tariff structure set to come in from 1 August which Mr Witney-Price said would "see many customer bills reduce significantly".

Follow BBC Guernsey on Twitter and Facebook. Send your story ideas to [email protected].