Electricity surcharge means it's not easy being green

This environmentally aware customer saw an opportunity to not only reduce his carbon emissions but also save a huge amount on his annual electricity charges and benefit from a return on investment that could not be equalled by any current investment proposals.

He did all the right things, researched the viability, checked with planners (who were very helpful and supportive), went into great detail on the financial benefits, and was over the moon when his calculations were further enhanced by Guernsey's ability to be 20% more efficient than the UK, due in part to the albedo effect (we are surrounded by reflective water) but more so from our ability to produce more hours of sunshine.

All sounds great doesn't it, Guernsey leading the world in renewable technology, held up as an example of the way forward in sustainable energy solutions, and all of us benefiting from reduced power costs (all of us?)... Whoops, got that wrong.

In their wisdom, Guernsey Electricity decided to impose a surcharge on any power over 20 kilowatts that you produce yourself and at such a level that it becomes unviable to make the necessary investment.

Now bearing in mind that this is no different to anyone reducing their electricity usage by careful monitoring around their home or business, does this mean Guernsey Electricity will start surcharging anyone trying to be a little more energy efficient?

Worldwide governments are encouraging, if not demanding, that we all invest in renewable energy in an effort to 'save the planet' and reduce our carbon footprint.

PV panels are easy to install, show a terrific return on investment and are readily and affordably available. In most European countries you are rewarded for installing most forms of renewables (The UK pays you for every kilowatt of power you produce yourself). The States of Guernsey do have a dedicated department looking in to the advantages of renewables, but one wonders if they will come up against the same hurdles as our environmentally concerned client.

You may wonder why GE imposes this surcharge? Well so do I. Their arguments are untenable, they currently struggle to satisfy current demands, and future demands will only increase and put serious pressure on the grid. Solar PV is not a cure, but it goes a long way in relieving the pressure on the grid and it is immediate.

Oh, I forgot to mention that GE has a monopoly, is owned by the States of Guernsey and probably suffers from the indecisions, vagaries as do all the other States departments... Wow, do have a problem.

IAN WALKER,

The Little Green Energy Company.

Editor's footnote: Alan Bates, chief executive of Guernsey Electricity, responds: 'Thank you for the opportunity to respond to your reader's letter.

Guernsey Electricity is keen to encourage islanders to install their own renewable systems.

However, where customers continue to require Guernsey Electricity to provide a supply to cover situations where their own generation, including renewable resource, is unable to meet their requirements all of the time, we apply a standby charge to them. The reason why this charge exists is to recover the costs of providing the infrastructure to supply electricity to that customer.

To explain this further, when a customer applies for an electricity supply Guernsey Electricity either pays for the majority of or all of the costs to put that supply in, that is, the cost of the network infrastructure needed to supply the electricity needs of the customer.

The costs are very dependent on what the customer asks for in terms of electricity consumption and the nature of the proposed load; the larger the consumption and demand the higher the costs incurred.

Guernsey Electricity recovers the costs for providing this supply, and maintaining that supply into the future, through its tariffs. So, if at a later point in time, the customer then decides not to use the electricity originally applied for and generates their own electricity in parallel with the network, but wants to retain the supply for when they do not generate (e.g. maintenance or failure of equipment), we would be unable to recover the costs associated with that supply.

However we would still have to maintain generation and importation as well as the network that supplies customers and there is a cost to providing them with this standby arrangement.

Unfortunately the use of PV will lower the electricity bill for the individual concerned but the costs offset are only the purchase of the wholesale product and not the cost of providing the infrastructure. We believe it is therefore unfair that all other customers would have to pay extra on their bills to fund another person's service. To make it fair and equitable for all we apply a standby charge which recovers the costs via an additional fixed charge and not through overall consumption.

The current standby charge applies to customers with renewable installations greater than 25kW capacity. This tends to be for commercial customers as at 25kW this is more than a domestic customer would normally require on their property. This standby charge does not apply to customers with renewable installations less than 25kW capacity to encourage domestic customers to install renewable systems.

Guernsey Electricity does recognise that this charge should not act as a disincentive to individuals investing in renewable power which is why we are currently reviewing the level of the charge and its coverage to ensure it is appropriate. In addition Guernsey Electricity's long term investments are focused on ensuring electricity consumed in Guernsey are from low carbon and renewable sources.

Other forms of incentive program for renewable projects, such as feed in tariffs as seen in other jurisdictions, is certainly something that islanders might be interested in.

However this would be a matter for

the States of Guernsey's Energy Policy Group to consider and not Guernsey Electricity.

Any incentive schemes would need to balance the cost impact on all electricity customers against the benefits achieved for the few who installed the renewable projects.

In relation to the commercial company's comments about the robustness of

the electricity grid and the ownership

of Guernsey Electricity, may we suggest The Little Green Energy Company contacts us directly and we would be more than happy to discuss these matters further.'