Jersey Electricity chief executive Chris Ambler tells James Jeune why the Island is in a strong position in terms of its future power supply and the journey towards decarbonisation
WITH surging wholesale electricity prices, French politicians threatening to cut power supplies and a global shift towards reducing carbon-emissions, one thing is for certain – it’s an interesting time to be the head of an energy company.
But despite some of the challenges that have emerged in recent years, as well as those potentially on the horizon, Jersey Electricity chief executive Chris Ambler believes the Island is in a strong position – and could even become a world leader in delivering cost-effective, decarbonised power.
‘I think the next ten years in the energy sector is going to be absolutely fascinating,’ said the 53-year-old, who took up his role in 2008.
‘With COP26 [the most recent annual UN climate change conference] and a focus on carbon emissions, obviously the energy sector has a hugely important role to play in helping to facilitate this future. For a company like Jersey Electricity, in Jersey, it is an incredibly interesting place to be and I think we really have the potential to assist greatly in that journey.’
The former Cambridge University student – who described himself as an engineer by profession – said he believed nuclear power was still a vital part of Jersey’s electricity supply, 95% of which is imported from low-carbon, hydro and nuclear sources in France through three undersea cables.
‘We can connect into a vast range of generation sources, whether that be tidal energy, solar energy, different forms of thermal energy, nuclear energy and it doesn’t have to come from a particular plant. We have tremendous flexibility, so we have alternative parties who we can contract with. At the moment we have a firm contractual position to 2027 with EDF [Electricite de France] – but there are alternative providers that we can go to,’ he said.
Last year EDF had to shut down and extend the closure of four reactors at the Chooz and Civaux plants after faults were found in a safety system.
Mr Ambler added: ‘There are a small number [of plants] that are being shut down but some only temporarily, pending further work. Some are going through a process of extending their lives.’
Although nuclear power remains an essential part of keeping the lights on, Mr Ambler said that Jersey Electricity was also committed to progressing the development of local, renewable sources such as wind, tidal and solar technologies.
However, he pointed out that doing so would not reduce emissions, as nuclear power already had a low-carbon intensity.
That said, he revealed that the company was exploring the possibility of an offshore wind farm development.
‘We did do a piece of work about five or six years ago and we were quite keen to get a project off the ground, working with government. We would like to pursue this again because the cost of offshore wind is coming down although it is still more expensive than importing from France. Would I want to fill up Jersey’s oceans with wind turbines? No, I wouldn’t, but is there space for an offshore wind development on the outer edges of the maritime boundary? I think there is potential for that and there could be a case for constructing a project,’ he said.
The company is also monitoring tidal technology being trialled off the north coast of Scotland. Orbital Marine Power’s O2 – described as the world’s most powerful tidal turbine – started generating power in Orkney last year.
However, Mr Ambler said that such technology was ‘typically anywhere from three to five times more expensive than importing [energy] from France’.
‘There is this perception that it is free because you can just deploy a piece of kit and it will just capture the energy.
‘The problem is it’s not free, because you have to invest significantly upfront in infrastructure, including the capture technology and the wires to bring the power onshore,’ he said.
Although he acknowledged the Island had a ‘very good tidal range’, he explained that the right topography was also needed for tidal energy to be harnessed in a cost-effective manner.
‘We would love to be able to work with partners to bring technology here and maybe offer Jersey as a test-bed for new technologies, whether that be tidal-flow technology or tidal-barrage technology. We have been talking to the guys at Orkney about the technology there and its state of readiness,’ Mr Ambler explained.
Jersey Electricity has also worked to introduce a number of solar panel arrays in the Island – including a 2,500sqm array on the roof of Jersey Dairy and a 1,311sqm array on a warehouse roof at Woodside Farms.
Mr Ambler said: ‘We want to help nurture and develop on-Island renewables. Our challenge is how to do it cost effectively and in a way that won’t lead to significantly higher power prices.’
Towards the end of last year the government released its draft Carbon Neutral Roadmap, which outlined the steps ministers plan to take to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
Proposals included financial support for Islanders to purchase electric vehicles and upgrade to low-carbon heating systems.
‘I think there is a fantastic opportunity for Jersey to deliver net-zero faster and more cost-effectively than virtually anywhere else,’ said Mr Ambler, pointing to models of undersea cables on a shelf in his office.
‘Because of these cables we have a very well-invested network with spare capacity. That is what we would call internally a “zero-carbon platform”. It is a platform that will allow us to further decarbonise the energy system in Jersey, and that is about heating and it is about transport. The great thing about our system is that it is entirely compatible with a renewable future, so it is not grid instead of renewables, it is grid as well as renewables.’
He added: ‘There is no doubt there will be significant challenges in facilitating a full decarbonisation of the Island, but the whole world is facing this challenge – arguably a much greater challenge because it does not have the assets available to it that Jersey has. It does not have the zero-carbon platform that we have built that is compatible with this fantastic renewable system.’
Following a major surge in wholesale European electricity prices, Jersey Electricity introduced a 4% rise that took effect at the start of this year – adding around 80p a week to the average domestic bill.
Mr Ambler said Jersey was in a strong position, due to a ‘disciplined’ hedging strategy – whereby energy is purchased in advance at a pre-determined price – as well as a ‘very efficient system’ and various contractual protections.
‘Power prices here are extremely competitive. The UK prices are now 41% higher and a substantial proportion of UK households are actually paying those prices, and some are paying more on longer-term contracts,’ he said.
‘At the beginning of February the UK regulator Ofgem announced that it was permitting a 56% increase in that price cap. Those companies are in real difficulty. The UK energy system has seen 28 suppliers fail and go out of business because they have got hedging wrong. There is a huge shake-out in the industry, a lot of distress in the sector and from the beginning of April this year power prices in the UK will be double that of Jersey,’ he added.
Asked if Islanders were likely to be hit with another price hike, he said: ‘The honest answer is we don’t know for sure. We can’t guarantee what happens in the future, as there are a range of factors that come into play – it really depends on how sustained these high wholesale prices are and the extent to which the market can respond to that. If you look at the factors that have led to these high wholesale prices they are things like pent-up demand from Covid, limited supply, not very much gas storage, a lack of wind generation and there was quite a cold winter last year, which took a lot of energy out of the system.’
He added: ‘Then of course you have the Russia-Ukraine tensions that have created uncertainty in the market and driven prices up.
‘So it is really difficult to say what will happen in the future, but what I can say is we will continue working as hard as we can to keep prices in and around inflation.
‘Ultimately there may be an impact from these high wholesale prices as they gradually flow into our hedging – it might not happen, we don’t really know, but our contract does give customers a lot of shelter.
‘To be blunt, I am not expecting anywhere near the sort of impact that they had in the UK.’
During protests by Breton and Norman fishermen last year over the new post-Brexit fishing licensing regime – which gave Jersey the sole right to issue permits for the commercial use of its waters – French Sea Minister Annick Girardin threatened that Jersey’s connection with the French grid could be cut off in retaliation.
Mr Ambler said: ‘Clearly there are a lot of political tensions going on at very senior levels in the UK and French governments.
‘We can’t completely ignore the threat, so we have contingency plans in place to cover the position.’
He added: ‘You have two private organisations here – EDF and Jersey Electricity – who are willingly contracted and I think it would be very difficult for them to terminate or restrict supplies.’
