Jersey Water is well placed to weather COVID-19 storm

Jersey Water is well placed to weather COVID-19 storm

The utility company last week announced it had shelved a planned price hike next month in response to the crisis, which is threatening, in particular, many small firms.

Chief executive Helier Smith said that demand for water had remained stable during the outbreak so far, but he suspected businesses were using less water due to reduced footfall.

‘We haven’t seen any real increase in overall water usage due to people washing their hands more,’ he said.

‘But I suspect that is because businesses are using less water. People aren’t going to places like cafés, so the water usage is dropping there.

‘I really feel for the businesses that are suffering in terms of trade and for those businesses we would like to say come and have a chat with us and we will work something out for you.’

Mr Smith said that Jersey Water enacted its action plan to ensure it continues supplying the Island with high-quality water last week.

‘COVID-19 came on the scene quite a while ago and we have been very conscious of its potential impact on the Island,’ he said.

‘We have been actively planning for at least a month and put together a package of measures. We have segregated our teams so we can maintain tests and continue to supply high-quality water to the Island.

‘This thing, we suspect, is not going to last for a few weeks but for a few months. We invoked our plans last week. We have a skeleton crew and we have people working at home.

‘The last thing we need people worrying about at this time is their water supply.’

– Advertisement –
– Advertisement –