Price control ruling 'fabulous' say Sark residents

Elizabeth Perrée said she was confident the new price ruling would be celebrated by residents

Residents in Sark have reacted with delight at the news electricity prices are set to be lowered next month.

Sark Electricity Limited (SEL) had raised prices to £1.13 per KWH, which was described by the regulator as the "highest price in the world".

But in a ruling on Tuesday, Shane Lynch, the price control commissioner for Sark, said the price was "neither fair nor reasonable" and he'd be issuing a price control order in October.

Owner of the Sablonnerie Hotel Elizabeth Perée described the news as "fabulous". Sark Electricity Limited said it was to contest the new ruling.

Jan Guy, who has been involved in organising public meetings about the increased tariffs said the ruling from the regulator was "good news" and she was "feeling positive".

"I'm very glad the price control commissioner is getting towards a price control order," she said.

Sark's government Chief Pleas said it would not be paying the increased bills.

And Ms Guy agreed that many residents would be doing the same: "Bills for September are still going to be high.

"There may be a letter going out from a group of residents saying these new bills are neither fair nor reasonable."

Sark Electricity is set to contest the ruling from the regulator

Sark's government has started a process to compulsory purchase Sark Electricity Limited, which the company has said led to it introducing a legal levy of 40p on all bills to pay for proceedings.

Chair of Chief Pleas' Future Energy Committee Mike Locke said the timescales would allow for a purchase of the utility by Christmas if a valuer was agreed soon.

But he admitted the purchase was more likely to go through before March next year.

A spokesperson for SEL said the utility was planning to appeal the determination and believed a negotiated resolution was in the interests of all stakeholders, rather than court proceedings.