Energy resilience in Jersey is weak, report finds

Many homes were left without power after Storm Ciarán

The Government of Jersey's ability to ensure continued energy supplies across the island in an emergency has been criticised as "weak" and "limited".

The Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) made the comments in a report into Jersey's critical infrastructure resilience.

Lynn Pamment, the C&AG, said the government had "a great deal to do" despite learning from several critical incidents in recent years.

The government said it acknowledged more needed to be done and it was already working on putting additional measures in place.

The report looked at how resilient Jersey's energy supplies were during emergencies.

It went on to evaluate Jersey's strategy to withstand damage to critical energy infrastructure, but found "no cross-cutting infrastructure policy" existed.

The report said the government had learned lessons from incidents including the gas explosion at Haut du Mont

Ms Pamment's report said although the government had learned lessons from recent events, including Covid, the gas explosion at Haut du Mont and Storm Ciarán, not enough action had been taken afterwards.

The report said capacity in the government to manage resilience was "currently very limited" and arrangements to underpin effective resilience were "not yet adequate".

It said: "Government arrangements to assure the resilience of energy supply as both a community leader and as a key customer are weak."

The report noted Jersey imports 98% of all its energy supplies.

Ms Pamment said "clear, resourced action plans" should be developed to manage the risk.

"Critical incidents in recent years should be the catalyst for the government and its partners to address weaknesses in managing energy resilience," she said.

"There is work to be undertaken by government to enable it, as community leader, to provide islanders with assurance on energy supply, fuel storage and distribution."

'More to be done'

Constable Andy Jehan, Minister for Infrastructure, said ministers welcomed the review which he said was carried out in a "collaborative way" and involved the island's energy companies.

“Storm Ciarán, the Haut du Mont disaster and the other major incidents of the last two years have shown how resilient Jersey is, and how effective we are when we all work together," he said.

"But the new government is the first to acknowledge there is still more to be done on our resilience in the current challenging global environment, and we are already working to put the necessary measures in place."

He said the government was improving resilience laws and the community risk register.

"We will look carefully at how we can best address the other potential improvements highlighted in the Comptroller and Auditor General’s review," he said.

"We'll continue to work closely with our local energy providers, and I expect them to respond to this review practically and promptly, especially in terms of resilience planning."