ISLANDERS struggling with the cost of living are facing “another blow” to their finances after a utility provider announced a price hike that will take effect in under two weeks.
Island Energy has said it “must” introduce a 12% rise in gas prices at the end of this month, with the company blaming market volatility, high interest rates and inflation for the above-inflation increase.
The timing of the price rise, which the utility company says will add about £13.80 per month to bills for an average household, has drawn criticism from Patrick Lynch – the chief executive of Catholic social action charity Caritas Jersey.
Mr Lynch argued that many Islanders were using more heating due to the cold weather, and that the rise came after electricity and water bill increases of 12% and 10.9% respectively.
Jersey Dairy also implemented a 7p per litre increase in wholesale milk prices last week.
The latest rate of inflation in Jersey was marked at 10.1%.
Islands Energy Group has pledged to review their prices in six months.
The company’s chief executive, Jo Cox, said: “We are fully aware of the challenges that many households are facing with rising prices across the board.
“We have kept our tariffs the same for over a year; however, with inflationary pressures on operating and importation costs, high interest rates impacting on our capital investment programme and the continued volatility in the wholesale gas market, we have had to take the difficult decision to make this increase.
“We’re confident that our prices truly reflect the cost of gas we supply to our customers.”
However, Mr Lynch said: “It’s another blow to Islanders on the back of water, electricity and milk price increases and comes at a time when we are still trying to get politicians to appreciate the gravity of the poverty problem in Jersey.
“It’s also the time when people are the most maxed-out in terms of the utilities they are using and a time when people are paying back bills from the Christmas period.”
Consumer Council chair Carl Walker also questioned the timing of the hike, adding: “It’s outrageous that this has been announced before the details of the compensation for the outage more than three months ago.”
A spokesperson for the Islands Energy Group said that it reviewed its prices “at regular intervals”.
“As people will have seen the entire energy sector is facing increasing costs, with the price of electricity and gas in the UK also going up from January.
“We completely understand that rising costs can cause issues for some customers. We are working closely with both the Government of Jersey and the States of Guernsey to ensure they are fully up to date on the situation and that they are able to offer support where they can.
“We provide a Priority Customer Care scheme that offers support to vulnerable customers, ‘energy reviews’ for customers to see where they can save energy, and a host of smart technology that can help customers manage their consumption and reduce costs.
“If any customers are struggling with their bills, we would urge them to get in touch with us to see how we can help,” they added.
Responding to a query from the JEP asking the company to justify its above-inflation rise, the spokesperson said: “Inflation is a broader measure of economic performance that considers many factors. Whilst inflation is slowing, prices are still higher than the 2% UK government target and whilst the cost of some goods has fallen the price of many continues to rise, just not at the rate seen previously.”
They continued: “Inflation puts pressure on operating and importation costs, high interest rates are impacting on our capital investment programme and the continued volatility in the wholesale gas market means we must increase our prices.”
Islanders can contact the group’s customer services team on 755500.
