Fraught fight ahead to keep Sark’s lights on

The priority here has to be to keep the lights on and the move that gives Sark’s government the right to move in and fire up the generators should the current owner try to cut supplies is right and proportionate.

Thereafter, however, the situation is far more fraught. Western governments are correctly reluctant to acquire private assets by force. Where they do, on the grounds of security, public wellbeing or other compelling reasons, fair compensation has to be paid.

Chief Pleas hopes to negotiate a sale but the owner, with some justification, will claim that process is being conducted under duress and with the constant threat that if the price is not right, a forced sale will ensue.

Few in Sark, however, will see it that way. Relations with the last two owners have been strained, to say the least, and the view widespread that a monopoly supplier has a licence to print money at islanders’ expense, a view supported by the price commissioner in reducing tariffs.

The overwhelming difficulty here is for Chief Pleas to demonstrate that it has conducted itself with scrupulous fairness. That is not to suggest otherwise but small communities have their own tensions and appearances count.

Others have attempted to invest in the island, with less than success, and Sark does not need adverse perceptions to put off others from doing so in future.

Moving towards a publicly-owned utility is probably now the only long-term solution to this dispute, but it is unlikely to be the route to cheap and reliable electricity that many expect. Scale and legacy equipment make that unlikely.

However, taking the conflict out of something as essential as a 24-hour, year-round supply of electricity has now become essential for Sark. The lasting perception of how it achieves that is no less important.