Isle of Man Energy is proposing to cut gas tariffs by 2.8%.

The moved comes following the latest twice-yearly review by regulator the Communications and Utilities Regulatory Authority.

CURA’s mid-year review compared actual demand and commodity prices with the assumptions made by Isle of Man Energy, taking into account forward purchase agreements the company has entered into since the last review in December 2023.

The regulator acknowledged that commodity costs are lower than they have been in the previous two years and are largely stable at present.

Its review found that demand for the year to date was higher than previously anticipated which means that the overall cost of operating the network is more than covered by current tariff levels and creates a risk of an over-recovery.

To mitigate the risk of a small over-recovery, Isle of Man Energy proposed a 2.8% reduction in tariffs, which equates to a reduction per unit of 0.3p.

CURA agreed that this is the appropriate action to take.

The price reduction will be implemented in July.

The next tariff review is due to take place in November 2024, with any changes to prices to be implemented in January.

Isle of Man Energy’s tariffs fell from a record high of 22.21p per unit to 16.67p per unit in November 2022 following a regulator’s review after a big drop in wholesale gas prices. Tariffs were cut again to 13.98p from March last year and reduced again, by 16%, in January this year.

A reduction in wholesale natural gas prices led Manx Utilities to pull back on a planned 5.7% increase in electricity tariffs which had been proposed to come in from April 1.

Instead the authority reduces the current rates by 5.1%. However, standing charges, water and waste water charges all increased by 5.7%.