Is it time to regulate our utility companies?

The time has surely come for our utility companies to be independently regulated.

You may already know but Islands Energy operates in Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Last week the energy provider announced it would be putting its prices up in Jersey by 7.5% next Thursday (16 January 2025), citing geopolitical events across Europe in the past 12 months as the driver behind the rise.

However, the same company had recently been told by the Communications and Utilities Regulatory Authority in the Isle of Man that its gas was too expensive due to ‘changes in the global commodity prices’ and needed to bring its prices down by 13.8% on I January 2025.

No sooner had the gas provider been told its prices needed to come down in one Island due to the ‘global situation’ did it then announce it was putting them up in another – for the very same reason.

It’s important to point out that the Isle of Man is hooked up to a mains supply which runs between Scotland and Ireland, and Jersey’s gas comes in the form of liquid petroleum. However, how do we know as consumers that what we are being told is the truth? Are prices genuinely rising in only Jersey because of ‘geopolitical events’ or is the company recouping its losses from elsewhere?

If we were in the UK – or even the Isle of Man – the utility provider would have to be regulated, meaning every price rise and reduction would need approval and justification, along with lots of other requirements, such as compensation in case of outages and set percentages of income to be invested in maintenance.

However, being completely unregulated, Islands Energy – along with Jersey Water and Jersey Electricity - are free agents, offering little or no transparency or protection for consumers, who ultimately have to pay the price.

Surely our politicians would like to ensure that Islanders and businesses are treated fairly, have protection in case things go wrong, and that our utility providers are accountable. Well, you would like to think so.