Cost of electricity rises as fixed-price deals end

The price of electricity in Guernsey is to rise from 1 July.

The States' Trading Supervisory Board (STSB) granted Guernsey Electricity (GEL) an increase of 8% to be split between the charge per unit of electricity and the fixed standing charge.

The STSB has also approved a 2.5% increase in quarterly standing charges from 12.5% to 15%.

The decision comes after Guernsey Electricity (GEL) applied to the government for an increase of 9.5% because its long-term fixed-price agreements for the import of electricity are due to end.

The STSB said the quarterly standing charges for households would rise from £68.25 to £86.75, the equivalent of about 95p per day.

It said this rebalancing would protect customers who were unable to install their own renewable electricity generation.

It said customers generating renewable electricity paid less in unit charges as the amount they bought decreased, but they remained connected to the mains network to supplement their generation capacity.

STSB president deputy Peter Roffey said while the bills had been kept "artificially low" GEL had been unable to adequately invest in the network.

He said GEL had spent more than £30m in maintaining and upgrading the local network but much of this had been financed through borrowing.

The STSB said it was "not commercially sustainable" for GEL to continue borrowing to maintain its current infrastructure.

The electricity firm said it planned to invest about £12m in 2025 and £10m in 2026 as well as a contribution of around £10m towards the replacement of the Normandie 2 cable between France and Jersey between now and 2029.

The board said GEL would be expected to make efficiency savings of about £1.8m by the end of 2027 to reduce the need for future tariff increases.

The benefit would be passed on to customers, the board added.

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