Sark Electricity in Channel Island | Public utility company

Sark Electricity

Locality: Channel Island

Phone: +44 1481 832053

Address: Harbour Hill, Sark GY10 1SB Channel Island, NT, Australia

Website: http://www.sarkelectricity.com

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25.01.2022 Press Release For immediate Distribution 8th October 2020 I have been contacted this morning by some of the affected residents to be told that a number of elderly residents were not provided with power until 7.30pm last night.... Had a select few politicians not hamstrung the work of the emergency committee then these residents would have been able to be connected, via our local area grid, with a single connection; rather than a house for house connection that was insisted upon for no other reason than hubris. A safer and faster route to achieve the goal of minimising the terrible impact of this issue for the innocent residents affected. No-one wanted this problem and certainly no-one asked for it. But, like Covid-19, it must simply be dealt with. SEL can play its part once we have legal permissions in place to do so. But we, like the Emergency Committee continue to be hamstrung by a select few. I am asking for a public enquiry into the decision making process that left these residents so dramatically and unnecessarily affected. There can be no measure of good governance by which this decision could be considered as reasonable and those responsible must be held accountable for it. Alan Jackson

24.01.2022 Dear all I have been contacted this morning by Ravenscroft and advised that they were told today that I am saying that Ravenscroft are my backers; they are not. I have been clear on TV, Radio, in the public meeting and to anyone that has asked me directly that the Company has been acquired by me. Believe it, dont believe it, I care not; but there is no-one behind me.... Whomever is spreading the rumour that I have said that Ravenscroft have backed this acquisition should stop immediately. Both Ravenscroft and Sark Electricty take a dim view of this kind of behaviour. Regards Alan Jackson Owner of Sark Electricity

24.01.2022 Second Press Release For immediate Distribution 7th October 2020 Once again Chief Pleas have issued a statement that is simply factually incorrect in an effort to re-write history. The instruction to terminate the power to 19 residents came from the Sark Seneschals Court under application from Mr Moerman. I am, regrettably, responding to a Court Order. Chief Pleas may be above the law; SEL is not.... As was agreed with the emergency committee in advance, power to residents was not disconnected until the committee instructed SEL that they were ready to provide power to the affected residents. That instruction was received at 12.50 from Mr Kevin Adams and our technicians terminated supply as required under penalty of being in contempt of Court. No alternative options offered to SEL by Chief Pleas come with the necessary legal provisions. The fact that Chief Pleas choose to ignore the legal reality on the ground does not mean that SEL can do the same even though it genuinely wishes too. Witney Price Group Holdings Limited, as owner of SEL, wrote individually, under the header Witney Price Outreach, to the Executive of Sark at 10.54pm on Monday 5th October. In this correspondence I detailed once again the situation that we are in and asked them to seriously consider our proposal to meet and seek a solution to the problems before us. In this correspondence, I made it clear that, regrettably, I do not consider Chief Pleas, as a result of its conduct to date, to be a reliable partner with which to negotiate in good faith. I offered to meet on a Without Prejudice basis and under a Non-Disclosure Agreement if they felt this was necessary to get the ball rolling. My only pre-condition was that an independent observer needed to be in the room. This was, almost, universally ignored by the receiving parties. Of the two responses one was understanding but non-committal and one was a vitriolic rant. I received an invitation this afternoon at 1.44pm to meet with members of P&F and The Medical and Emergency Committee at 9am tomorrow morning. They are aware of the basis upon which I will consider meeting with representatives of Chief Pleas; 1. Those Consiellers employed by Mr Moerman or related to those employed by Mr Moerman must recuse themselves from meetings on this matter given the significant personal conflict. They have thus far, repeatedly refused this request. 2. An independent observer must be in the room to ensure accurate minutes are taken and commitments made by all parties are honoured. I have, this afternoon, advised the Chief Secretary that once a meeting can be arranged that achieves the required pre-conditions of recusal and an independent observer, then I will be in attendance. Unfortunately, I must first be able to protect SEL if I am going to be able to protect the residents affected by this nonsense. Regards Alan

24.01.2022 Dear Residents As you will all appreciate SEL has been working diligently to ensure that we can respond swiftly and legitimately to the recent Court action which affects some 19 residents. Part of this process involves various urgent applications to allow works to commence. SEL and the Douzaine Committee have been in negotiations to swiftly arrange the required permits. Unfortunately, members of the Douzaine do not have a meeting scheduled before Thursday 10th September and t...hey are unable to meet with us on site before 5pm on Monday. SEL will reach out to our Advocates on Monday and ensure that the parties affected are notified of this unfortunate delay to works. We trust that the affected parties and the Court should they become involved again, will recognise that there is little value in disconnecting other Island residents to allow works until all necessary permissions have been received from the various Island committees. Regrettably, this could take some time. SEL will keep residents appraised as applications progress. Regards and many thanks for your understanding. Alan Jackson

23.01.2022 Dear Customers I have today been forced to write to Chief Pleas and notify them that I am no longer able to defer the works that have allowed me to continue to provide power for the 19 affected residents in the North end of the island. All I can say on this outcome is that residents should ensure that they do not upset their landlords as feudalism is alive and well and on Sark. A Court order was finalised on Friday that now requires that we remove the equipment from Mr Moerma...Continue reading

23.01.2022 Good afternoon all I am seriously considering turning this into a podcast to provide some light entertainment to our ever growing list of followers. Joanne did suggest that I post some pictures of me doing exercise in the back garden for some light releif. However, we decided, after due consideration, that me in a pink lycra body suit holding my pom poms would likely push some of you over the edge at this critical time. So we will stick with key announcements only. Those of ...you that do fancy seeing my pom poms please email Joanne via [email protected]. In respect of key announcements, PJ has asked me to advise you all that we will be reading all meters that are outside in the coming days. However, indoor meters will not be read and anyone who wishes to send in their reading (as opposed to getting an estimate) should do so by end of day April 1st. These can be sent by email to: [email protected] or by phone on 832053. Also, the link on the Sark Electricity website also remains in use. We hope that all of you are doing well and extend our thanks for following the guidelines and staying indoors where at all possible. Keep smiling. Regards Alan

21.01.2022 Update on minimum charges

21.01.2022 Correspondence by email (to all Conseillers.) 4th June 2021 NOT FOR ONWARD DISTRIBUTION...Continue reading

21.01.2022 Dear Customers, please see below a copy of correspondence that was sent to your Conseillers two days ago. SEL has not received any response. Dear Conseillers Sark Electricity Limited (SEL)...Continue reading

19.01.2022 Dear all My thoughts go out to everyone who is struggling at this dfficult time. I appreciate that the entire Bailiwick is in a difficult situation right now and that funds are scare for everyone. However, I would like to ask if residents of the Bailiwick would consider making a donation, no matter how small, to the Sark Hardship Fund c/o Chief Pleas. Our economy is small and the ability of Chief Pleas to support those in most need is minimal. In times like these, our commun...ities resources are being stretched extremely thin and will impact our residents right through the next winter given our seasonal economy. Any consideration that you can give to supporting our community at this time would be greatly appreciated by us all. I recognise that many of our Bailiwick residents are struggling right now and that some may feel that this is not the right time to ask. If my request offends or angers you then I sincerely apologise; that is not my intention. I am only asking those that feel that they can support us at this time to do so. Or, alternatively, that they seek other more localised endeavours that are offering support and help to those in need all around us. All donations will be overseen directly by the Treasurer of Sark’s Chief Pleas. Donations with the narrative SHF can be made too: Account name: Inhabitants of Sark Sort code: 60-09-20 Account number: 06023835 Please accept my sincere thanks in advance for your kind considerations.

18.01.2022 DEAR CUSTOMERS IT APPEARS THAT SOME OF YOU ARE UNDER THE IMPRESSION THAT I AM DOING NOTHING TO RESOLVE THE CRISIS OF CONNECTIVITY AT THE NORTH END OF THE ISLAND. NOTHING COULD BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH. WHILST I HAD INTENDED TO KEEP UPDATES PURELY FOR THE ATTENTION OF THE AFFECTED RESIDENTS. A BRIEF TRIP TO THE BEL AIR THIS EVENING SUGGESTS THAT SOME OF YOU THINK I SHOULD BE DOING MORE. IF YOU TAKE THE TIME TO READ THE LETTER THAT WAS SENT OUT THIS MORNING YOU WILL SEE THAT ...Continue reading

18.01.2022 Dear Customers Please find below a copy of open correspondence sent today to Chief Pleas. This is an important Public Policy matter and I encourage you to discuss your views with your local Conseillers and support our request for permanent rights to maintain our existing grid. Regards...Continue reading

17.01.2022 Dear customers of SEL I understand that Cheif Pleas are meeting this evening at 6pm to discuss the issue of Sark Electricity. Regrettably, the papers are embargoed. I have posted below, for all to see, a copy of the letter that I sent on 4th June 2021 some 17 days ago. It makes the point that Chief Pleas needs to engage before the matter I have been talking about for the last 13 months becomes more significant.... Unfortunately, Cheif Pleas and Government House would rather that the issues are litigated in Court at significant cost to residents rather than resolved through conversation. This despite, on the part of the MoJ, their commitment in August last year to maintain a watching brief on the situation. This letter from 17 days ago was sent following SEL being ignored by Cheif Pleas for Months. To date, only Conseillor Delaney has reached out to SEL in respect of this correspondence. No other Conseiller has sought to better understand the matter. I want Sark to thrive but that cannot happen while Conseillers ignore the situations around them and allow situations to develop that are entirely avoidable. We are a small island and we can solve the issues we face only if we work together. Paying advocates yet more money is not a solution to our problems. I urge our conseillers to require P&F to engage with SEL on behalf of the residents of Sark. Ignoring a bad situation will only make it worse. Regards Alan

13.01.2022 Dear Customer It is with genuine regret that I have today been forced to write to a number of local residents to inform them that SEL will be disconnecting their electricity supply under the instruction of Mr Sebastien Moerman's recent legal action in the Sark Court. Since June, Mr Moerman has been instructing SEL to disconnect the electricity supply to all properties comprising the tenement of La Tour and to remove the cabling and other ancillary equipment by the end of July...Continue reading

11.01.2022 Dear all Many thanks for your patience while we migrated across to the new meter system. This was a challenging exercise and for those of you that see Joanne around the island please give her a smile and a hug as this has been hugely stressful for her given that the Covid-19 limitations on travel have kept me in Guernsey. As part of this transition, there are changes to our invoicing which will require some attention on your part as customers.... The new invoices do not capture previous invoice values that remain unpaid, and outside of terms, as the old system did. Many people found the carried forward balance on our old invoices confusing and for this reason, we have taken the opportunity to remove this as we introduced the new billing system. Unfortunately, the new system does not currently include the property name. At this point, regrettably, we must ask that you review your previous bill; both of these bills contain the meter number, and this will allow you to self-annotate on the latest January bill which meter is for which property. With so many bills we were simply unable to manually update each of the customers; this should, with a fair wind, be included by the next billing cycle. The clarification on the invoice as to whether a reading for the period is estimated or actual should, we hope, also be included on your invoice from next month. Historically, the invoices would have included a bought forward balance. From now, if you need information on prior transactions you will need to review a statement. These can be provided from the office in paper, social distancing permitting, or emailed to you direct. In respect of the line items: The topline identifies the meter as either primary (40 minimum charge) or secondary (2 minimum charge). In addition, as with the old system, it confirms the Prev read value, the latest Read value, and the number of units Used. Below is the tariff structure which applies to your bill. 50p Standard Rate (1 2,000 Units) 38p Comm 1 (2,001 10,000 Units) 35p Comm 2 (10,001 30,000 Units) 30p Comm 3 (30,001 Upwards) Procurer bills and a few others do look significantly different. The total amount charged on each rate being shown at the end of the line with a final total at the bottom. As with any change we aimed for hassle-free but inevitably new is different from the old. Hopefully, this has provided some clarity but if you need anything further please reach out. Keep safe and best regards. Alan

10.01.2022 Good afternoon to you all. In light of the recent announcement by the Price Commissioner could I please ask you all to read your meters on the 31st March / 1st April and submit your readings by email to [email protected]. Given that it is Easter weekend, the guys will not be reading meters until the 6th of April and we are conscious of the impact that the increase may have on bills.

07.01.2022 Dear cusomers Some Conseillers have reached out to the MoJ for help given the inaction of Chief Pleas to date. The MoJ, rather than stepping up, simply insisted this morning that Chief Pleas put out a statement. That statement posted online from P&F rehashes excuses and does not solve the problem of protecting the affected residents. But, once more with feeling my old boss used to say. This is unacceptable to me and it is unacceptable to the residents of Sark that Conseillers...Continue reading

07.01.2022 Dear customer, I have today seen a notice from the Price Commissioner. please find my response attached below. PUBLIC CORRESPONDENCE Dear Dr White...Continue reading

06.01.2022 Dear all My updates appear to be coming out daily at the moment but given the current circumstance I feel it is better to over inform you rather than under. As you will be aware, we are the provider of outsourced services for Sure in relation to the local telephone network and repairs.... We have today been instructed by Sure that with immediate effect no works that involve entering into customers premises should take place and alternative methods of restoring or replicating services should be explored. These might include, investigating network side faults or encouraging or assisting the customer to make use of mobile voice or data facilities. This might include the use of dongles ad other similar devices. For those of you who use the lifeline service, we have arranged for spare devices to be held in stock on island in the unlikely event that this is required. Any absolutely necesary onsite works will first have to be approved and co-ordinated, by the Constable / Kevin Adams. Clearly we will endeavour to ensure complete connectivity while so many of you are having to isolate at home. If you have any specific questions or concerns please give us a call on 832053. Regards Alan

04.01.2022 Dear customers This may seem like an odd announcement to make on the SEL site but as a small community, I wanted to notify as many of you as possible at the same time. As part of my move towards adopting the children, my surname changed today to our intended collective family surname of Witney-Price. Hopefully, this will not cause significant confusion. Regards... Alan

03.01.2022 Dear Customer You may be aware that Chief Pleas and The Sark Price Commissioner have issued notices today in an effort, once again, to scare the population of Sark into believing half-truths and misdirection in an effort to cover up their own failings. Chief Pleas take the view that in SEL's effort to be transparent, that we are somehow threatening the island of Sark and we must be squashed. In my conversation with The Governor this afternoon he has been clear that The Crown ...is "staying out of this one". The parties must resolve the problem on their own, regrettably, Chief Pleas and The OPC continues to ignore our repeated correspondence. I trust the locals of Sark well enough to know that they are fully aware of the repeated failings of some of our elected representatives. As the owner of SEL I will say to you what I have been saying since May of last year. I will not continue funding the shortfall in SEL revenues from my own pocket. This should come as a surprise to no one. Chief Pleas and The OPC are once again seeking to force SEL and the Island of Sark down the route of litigation and further expense, which apparently is better than dialogue and compromise. I will issue a formal response to The OPC and Chief Pleas on Monday; in the meantime, enjoy your weekend safe in the knowledge that SEL has no intention of turning off the lights this weekend despite what Cheif Pleas would have you believe. I would say that those of you with outstanding bills would be well placed to settle them with urgency as covering the costs is bad enough, having bad payers is adding salt to the wound. Best regards Alan

01.01.2022 Good morning I trust that you are all coping well under the latest lockdown restrictions and that life, as much as possible, is treating you kindly in these challenging times. As you will no doubt be aware, given the lockdown we will be unable to undertake our normal meter reading cycle as we work to protect the team and residents during these difficult times. ... That being said, using estimating readings is not where we want to be given that we are moving to a new billing program and charging model. Could I please therefore ask that where possible you undertake manual reading yourselves and email the details to [email protected]. Alternatively, could you please drop a letter with the details through the letterbox at the station while you are out on your daily exercise. Given the seriousness of the circumstance, we have been asked not to staff the admin office at this time and Joanne will therefore be unable to listen to the voicemails if you were to phone your reading through and leave a message. If all of our customers try to leave voicemails with readings it is likely that the system will either become full and stop taking messages or will crash entirely. Therefore, for those of you that can, please use the alternative methods above so that those residents that are unable to get out and have no access to email will be able to leave a voicemail as normal. I genuinely appreciate that this is a pain and I apologise for asking but it is necessary under the current circumstances. Best regards and I pray that you all stay safe. Alan Jackson

01.01.2022 Just a reminder to all of our non fuel customers that we sell diesel at the pump too. Our price for June is 49p per litre. We are open Monday to Thursday 8am to 5pm.