As a result, the average annual domestic bill of £900 will rise by around £18 per year. However, this is below the latest rate of inflation, which was 3.6 per cent.
Jersey Electricity chief executive Chris Ambler said that with the Island importing most of its power from France the rise was ‘inevitable’ due to the fall in the value of sterling, which was particularly due to Brexit and other inflationary pressures.
‘Providing affordable electricity and maintaining stable pricing are the most important factors in the provision of our service to customers,’ he said.
‘We have kept prices at the same level for more than four years which is quite an achievement given the scale of our investment in infrastructure over the last five years and when compared with the UK that has seen the “big six” electricity companies increase retail prices by an average of 14 per cent last year alone.’
The majority of Jersey’s electricity supply comes from nuclear and hydro-electric plants in France using three underwater cables connected to the continental grid.
Mr Ambler said that special arrangements in Jersey Electricity’s deal with its partner in France had allowed the company to minimise price increases that could be caused by fluctuations in currency exchange rates.
‘Our supply agreement with EDF in France, which last year we extended by five years to 2027, combines a fixed-price component with the ability to hedge purchasing over a rolling three-year period,’ he said ‘These arrangements provide us with a degree of near-term certainty, but because we procure in euros the fall in sterling has had an inevitable impact on our costs over time.
‘By keeping this rise below inflation and by deferring its implementation until after the winter, we hope we have minimised the impact on household budgets.’
A statement released by Jersey Electricity said: ‘This small, below-inflation, price rise will continue to allow Jersey Electricity tariffs to benchmark favourably against other jurisdiction’s electricity prices.’
