Sark Electricity owner ready to sell to an unnamed buyer
The owner of Sark Electricity has said that he has agreed to sell the company to an unnamed buyer – and that early-stage talks have begun on the benefits to the community.
Alan Witney-Price indicated that he hoped the deal, for which heads of terms have been agreed, would remove the need for Chief Pleas to look to establish its own electricity infrastructure in the island.
Sark is currently dependent on SEL, a private company, for its electricity generation through diesel turbines.
Chief Pleas has previously described this system as ‘obsolete, dangerous, expensive and at high risk of failure’.
Instead, the island’s government has ambitious plans to replace the ageing grid and introduce renewables, at a cost of more than £11m.
Mr Witney-Price said that his potential buyers ‘bring significant expertise and a track history from across the globe’.
‘We trust that Sark residents will see the benefits in pursuing this vision for the local community.’
He confirmed that the new buyer had no connection with Chief Pleas.
But he understood that initial ‘low key’ and ‘tentative’ conversations between the bidder and a few individuals from the island’s government had taken place, which ‘suggested a genuine willingness to honestly consider the proposal and its potential benefits for the island’.
‘We want the sale to go ahead as soon as possible but there are clearly hurdles to cross.
‘There needs to be engagement with conseillers and they need to be pragmatic to allow Sark to move forward,’ he said yesterday.
‘I hope that government and residents will support this community-focused endeavour as the bidders progress with the due diligence required to complete this transaction.’
Chief Pleas had previously offered to purchase the current system from SEL but, according to the islands ‘community power’ website, negotiations have stalled.
It said that Chief Pleas remained open to purchasing the infrastructure at ‘a realistic price’, but as a last resort, Chief Pleas could use compulsory purchase powers to take over SEL’s assets.
Chief Pleas was approached for comment, but had not replied by the time of publication.
