Electricity boss says tariffs need to increase

The CEO of Guernsey Electricity has said bills need to increase - but he hoped the rise would be no more than 9%.

Speaking to BBC Radio Guernsey, Alan Bates warned that "tariffs do need to keep going up", adding factors such as supply chain issues had led to a "perfect storm of increases".

Mr Bates said the company, which will mark its 125th anniversary on Saturday, was setting out to make tariffs "more transparent".

"We want to try and reach a position where it's about how much stress you put on the grid, how much demand you put on the grid is how much you pay as a fixed charge," he said.

Island bills increased by 13% in 2023 and by 10% in 2024.

Mr Bates said there had been no tariff increases at all for about a decade, which meant the company had been forced to "borrow money".

He said a historic underinvestment in infrastructure, and the Ukraine war, resulted in current increases.

"We are really slowing that catch up down to try and make it as affordable as possible," he said.

Mr Bates said the company provided a buy back tariff for renewable energy.

"We are very pro-local renewable. We really want to see if it's the right thing to do for the island," he said.

Mr Bates said the company would "always" have to replace assets across the island, meaning road closures would continue to be in place in the future.

He said: "Unfortunately underground assets don't last forever so we will always have to replace them.

"Cables last about 70 years and after 70 years we will have to dig the road up again."

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