Isle of Man gas price cuts of 16% delayed by a week

Cuts to gas prices have been delayed so the Isle of Man's monopoly provider can test changes to its billing system.

Isle of Man Energy's tariffs were expected to drop by 16% on Monday after a Communications and Utilities Regulatory Authority (CURA) review.

But prices will now fall on 7 January after the regulator approved the energy firm's request for extra time.

CURA said mitigating any potential disruption was "clearly in the interest of consumers" and the gas provider.

It also found the most recent review had been completed about a week later than in previous years, which meant changes would have needed to be implemented over Christmas.

Therefore, the authority said the "potential benefits to agreeing to the request for a delay outweigh any potential harm".

The regulatory framework ensures the gas supplier will not "benefit financially from the delay, nor would consumers be potentially disadvantaged by any disruption due to lack of testing", it said.

Set up as a regulator in 2020, CURA has a remit of reviewing the tariffs and profits of the energy provider.

Isle of Man Energy is bound by energy regulations to keep its overall returns within the parameters set by the regulator to stop it making excessive profits.

Tariffs are set based on factors including the estimated wholesale commodity costs and customer gas consumption following twice-yearly reviews.

The next scheduled assessment will be in June 2024 and any changes would be introduced to customers the following month.

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