'We'll turn freezers off due to energy price rise'

BBC

A Sark shop worker says she will have to turn off some of the store's freezers due to electricity prices almost doubling.

Sark Electricity Limited (SEL) has said from Monday, fees will rise to £1.16 per unit, including an increased price of 56.3p per unit, plus a legal levy of 40p to cover its defence against Chief Pleas' move to seize its assets. There will also be a 20p levy to cover legal costs of the Electricity Prices Control Commissioner investigation.

Rosemary Barum, assistant at Mon Plaisir Stores, said they were going to "turn off lots of freezers so we don't use so much electricity."

SEL owner Alan Witney-Price says any funds left after legal proceedings will be returned to customers.

Ms Barum, told the BBC the premises already paid about £500 a month. The move to turn off the freezers would not impact the amount of food that the shop was able to store, she said.

However, they would have to be very careful with space, she added.

Elsewhere on the island other business will also be impacted.

The owner of a guest house, who did not wish to give her name, said she had a large number of bookings for September and October and the increase was going to have a huge impact.

She said: "Visitors aren't aware of how expensive it is, they might go into the kitchen in the morning and turn on a light, that's a lot of money."

Mr Witney-Price, has said he has always acted in the best interests of Sark residents and says Chief Pleas has forced his hand by not meeting with him face-to-face to discuss other ways to settle their disagreement.

He says levies will not be held by the firm while the legal proceedings take place.

Meanwhile, the Electricity Prices Control Commissioner, Shane Lynch, is looking into whether price rises are fair but has previously said he has not received "any justification for this increase".

In response, a spokesperson from Chief Pleas' said: "It is for the Electricity Price Control Commissioner after investigation to determine, under the Control of Electricity Prices (Sark) Law, 2016, if the prices charged by SEL are fair and reasonable.

"If the Electricity Price Control Commissioner determines the prices are not fair and reasonable, he has the power to introduce a price control order."

Christopher Beaumont, Seigneur of Sark, said the fact Mr Witney-Price had added a second levy to prepare for a challenge that might happen some time in the future showed he anticipated the price commissioner finding the first levy unfair and unreasonable.

"I have no intention of paying this portion of the October invoice," Beaumont said.

"This whole saga crystallises why Sark needs to be rid of this man and his poor business practices.

"It's not just businesses who will feel the impact every resident will also have their bills go up as well."

Minster of Sark, the Reverend David Stolton, said: "I was frankly quite shocked.

"My immediate concern was for those people on the island who are somewhat vulnerable, both our elderly but also a lot of people who live virtually on the breadline.

"Electricity is already very expensive will be unsustainable for them.

"They simply won't manage".

Mr Stolton added a lot of people felt the "threat of going onto pay meters, which is not fair for utility supply to have that power to be able to do that".

In response, Mr Witney Price said no customers needed to worry about ending up on a pay meter if their account was up to date. He said: "We are a policy-driven company and that's how we operate the business."