Short run-in to 58% Manx Gas bill hike 'not ideal', CEO says

The latest rise in gas tariffs came into force on Friday

A lack of run-in time for the introduction of a 58% hike in gas bills on the Isle of Man was "not ideal", the Manx Gas chief executive has said.

The rise, which came into force three days after it was announced on Tuesday, was the second in recent months.

Jo Cox said the recent approval of a regulatory framework for gas prices left the company little time to work through the figures before 1 April.

A dramatic increase in wholesale gas prices has been blamed for the rise.

It is the second increase in tariffs in recent months, after a 27.5% hike hit people's bills in December.

'One lever to pull'

As well as the tariff increase, customers who pay by direct debit have had the discount applied to their bills slashed from 2.5% to 1%.

Ms Cox said the move was necessary to avoid those not using the direct payment system getting "a bigger hit" when the changes came into force.

The island's monopoly provider only had "one lever to pull" at the moment "because all we sell is gas", she said, but the company was looking at extending the products it sells and was reviewing operating costs in a bid to keep future rises lower.

However, she warned that the volatility in the market could last for up to another year.

"All we can do is just keep watching that market, and trying to protect ourselves in the areas of the areas that we can control so that we can bring those prices down in a different way," she added.