Isle of Man gas bills to fall by 25% after regulator's review

Gas customers on the island have seen steep price rises over the past 12 months

Gas customers on the Isle of Man are to see average bills cut by a quarter later this month following a regulator's review.

The Communications and Utilities Regulatory Authority said prices should be lowered by 25% as the wholesale cost of gas had fallen.

Isle of Man Energy tariffs will be slashed on 14 November as a result.

However, another review will be held in December to set tariffs for 2023 under Manx gas pricing regulations.

The firm's chief executive Jo Cox said the drop was "great news" for customers after steep rises earlier this year.

'Fair and representative'

Gas bills on the Isle of Man have nearly trebled since September 2021, when the tariff price was 7.6p per unit.

In a fortnight the price will fall from a high of 22.21p per unit down to 16.67p, meaning prices will remain more than double what they were last year.

In a statement, the regulator said the decision had come after it had observed a "sustained downward trend" in the price of gas of more than 10%.

There was a risk Isle of Man Energy, the island's monopoly gas provider, could have profited from maintaining higher prices while wholesale costs fall, the statement said.

While tariffs were being managed to ensure they were "fair and representative of the cost of the service", the next review could see further changes made should there be any surge in wholesale gas costs over the winter, it added.