Chief Pleas will pay £115,000 to Sark Electricity to cover its legal costs for the negotiation process that had to take place to ensure the island's power stayed on.
The agreement was part of the final deal between the private utility's lawyers and the Sark Government - it specifically states the government body of Electricity Price Commissioner will now cover the costs.
In a letter to his customers to clarify the events of the last few weeks, David Gordon-Brown said the payment wouldn't cover all of the legal costs, but it would "certainly help". The negotiations themselves took place after Mr Gordon-Brown threatened to turn Sark's power off because the Commissioner had ordered him to charge 14p less per unit of electricity.
But everything concluded at the 11th hour, when Chief Pleas, the Commissioner and Sark Electricity agreed it would revert its prices to 66p a unit again for three months, at the end of which, Chief Pleas would look to purchase the business.
"Hopefully we have seen the last lawyer's bill and will receive the commissioner's contribution toward the outstanding amount soon," he said.
"Over the next few months we can pay off the remainder and start to recover our reserves. By the summer we should be in a position to start reducing the price.
"Hopefully the government will be able to complete the process they have agreed and buy the company at the end of the February. They will not have to worry about paying off the debts or receiving reserves as they will bring their own financing with them, so they should be able to reduce the price even more quickly."
Chief Pleas have gone on the record saying they are pleased the situation has been resolved.
Mr Gordon-Brown also said initially, Chief Pleas were looking at paying him £20,000 a month, for three months, before they would purchase the business, but the deal eventually came to a point where it was decided the determination that Sark Electricity's prices had to be reduced should be reverted.
"I hope this is the start of a new era of common sense and cooperation. The commissioner has also committed that in future he will calculate prices from our actual costs on Sark, not hypothetical costs based on the costs of larger companies in the UK," Mr Gordon-Brown said.
"I hope that the new members of Chief Pleas will be able to change its direction. if we had thrown all the money that "regulation" has cost Chief Pleas into a pot, together with all of the money it has cost the company, we would be close to buying Sark Shipping their new boat."
A subsidy is no longer on the table at all since the initial prices have been re-implemented, however the £20,000 figure was suggested because it was the amount Mr Gordon-Brown claimed to be losing when he had to drop his rates. Chief Pleas and the utility will still work together to ensure there is a smooth and sensible transition, however.
To read more about what went on in Sark over the last few months, click here.
Pictured: Sark Electricity Ltd.
Comments
Comments on this story express the views of the commentator only, not Bailiwick Publishing. We are unable to guarantee the accuracy of any of those comments.