£175k spend agreed on Sark electricity

Friday 19 January 2024

£175,000 will be taken from Sark's general reserves to pay for a new electricity generation and distribution system to serve the island.

At a meeting earlier this week, Chief Pleas agreed to the money being spent to secure "a reliable and resilient island-owned electricity system for Sark" with it having been prioritised as "a major infrastructure concern" for the island and its government.

Concerns over the price of Sark's electricity have been highlighted over the past six years at least with Express reporting on matters concerning the island's power since 2018 when there was a risk it was going to be switched off amid a row over prices involving residents, the then owner of Sark Electricity Limited and Chief Pleas.

The company has since been sold, but a continued lack of investment in the island's wider electrical infrastructure has continued to cause concern for some.

Chief Pleas has now stepped in with plans to fund an investigation into the possibility of installing a new electrical grid.

The £175k approved will pay for the design work. 

The design works is expected to take around 18 weeks, starting in February, meaning further information will be known from June onwards. 

The indicative costs (estimated) for both a generation and distribution system as well as electricity price implications (impact) are provided in the Appendix (HERE) which was approved by Chief Pleas on Wednesday night. 

Ten of Sark's conseillers were at Wednesday's meeting with ten backing the funding proposals and one 'no vote'.

The Policy and Finance Committee which brought the proposals for debate had already acknowledged that the money would have to come from the island's general reserves with plans also suggested for how it will be repaid. 

P&F said it "acknowledges the potential inherent and immediate fiscal risk of this action but balances it with the absolute need to secure electricity provision on the island for current and future generations".

The proposals include plans to include the expenditure in any borrowing needed for the project so it can be paid back into the reserves at a future date.

The funding needed for the overall project will itself be recovered through the future price of electricity with advice and guidance provided by amongst others, the Electricity Price Commissioner.

Sark's electricity is already among the highest in the world, with past disputes between the Commissioner and the owner of SEL over what amount should be charged.

Electricity currently costs 52p per unit in Sark with a monthly connection charge of £10.