Sark Electricity slams £8m. plan for rival power grid
Sark Electricity Ltd has said it is surprised that the island’s government appears to be seeking talks with Guernsey about borrowing more than £8m. for a controversial new electricity grid.
According to managing director Alan Witney-Price, representatives of Chief Pleas met with Guernsey treasury officials yesterday.
‘I live in Guernsey and know the financial pressure we are under with no funding available for schools and hospitals,’ he said.
‘Lending Sark money for this plan is nonsensical.’
Plans for a new grid, costing £8.6m. with two 30m wind turbines and a solar farm, were unveiled last week.
‘I can put in a much cheaper system. I just need the permission to lay cables, which they keep denying me.’
He added that his company was currently taking legal advice over Sark’s government's plans to put in a rival electricity grid.
‘It’s the last thing I want to do as the cost will be end up with my customers, but Chief Pleas simply won’t speak to me. Its a failure of governance and a disaster waiting to happen. It’s bad for Sark, bad for Guernsey, and bad for both islands’ residents.’
Mr Witney-Price has openly criticised the new Chief Pleas plans, describing them as ‘nonsense’.
He has written an open letter to all of Sark’s conseillers explaining why he was against the plans, which would put Chief Pleas into direct competition with SEL.
He said there was only one difference between his suggested grid improvements and the government’s.
‘My way puts the price down at my expense, and your way puts the price up at Sark’s expense.’
In 2021, an independent report said that Sark’s current electricity infrastructure needed a complete overhaul due to ‘serious health and safety concerns’.
Mr Witney-Price said that Chief Pleas had not responded to requests for meetings to discuss upgrading the network.
‘Policy & Finance have not responded to any correspondence for three years. I sent them a 47-point plan regarding the grid, safety, solar and tidal and they haven’t replied. We could add tidal very easily. Our needs as an island are small, there is tried and tested technology they use now in rivers in Canada that would be ideal for our waters.’
He said he had also failed to get a response from Guernsey’s Civil Contingencies Authority, which oversees safety on the network.
Conseillers will vote on whether to approve a further £175,000 for the design phase of the project at Chief Pleas Christmas meeting on 17 January, having already spent £50,000 on the plans.
Mr Witney-Price, who bought SEL in 2020, said he would not be attend a public meeting on Sark tomorrow evening when the plans will be presented to islanders.
‘I’m not going, no one will listen to the facts,’ he said.
