Guernsey Electricity to cut 17 jobs

The spokesman said more to "improve efficiency" were unlikely to impact on prices

Seventeen staff are being made redundant at Guernsey Electricity as part of an efficiency review of the company.

The firm said it followed a consultation with its 190 permanent employees and the affected staff had been told of their redundancy.

Some roles would instead be carried out by contractors, a spokesman said.

The company reported losses of £231,000 for the year ending 31 March, 2014 and a £3.4m loss the year before.

The spokesman said the reorganisation provided a base for further changes.

'Must be realistic'

He said this included "improving our customer experience, providing the island with the electricity infrastructure we need for the future and maintaining the affordability of electricity for all residents".

The company does not expect prices to be affected by the change, saying they are "affected more by changes in the wholesale markets - this currently being the price of importing electricity from Europe".

The spokesman said: "Improving efficiency will have a limited effect on our overall profitability.

"However, it is obviously still worth being as efficient as possible in order to help keep prices as low as possible, but we also must be realistic."

The company's sole shareholder is the States of Guernsey and the firm is the only provider of mains electricity in the island.