Manx Utilities (MUA) have announced that there will be no changes to electricity, water and sewerage charges for the next year.
Electricity charges for the majority of domestic customers remains at 16.9 pence per unit, and standing charges for domestic and commercial users remains at 20.2 pence per day.
Tariffs for industrial customers will not change.
The unit rate paid for surplus private electricity generation sold by customers to the MUA will be reduced by 1.0 pence per kilowatt to 8.2 pence per kWh from this month.
Additionally, a further 1.0 pence per kWh reduction is proposed from April 2022.
The water rate remains at 238.1 pence in the pound, and the sewerage rate will stay at 217.4 pence in the pound.
The discount for non-domestic water and sewerage customers will be reduced from 40% to 35%.
Charges for septic tank emptying will not increase.
In October 2018, the MUA presented a five-year pricing strategy to Tynwald, detailing how they determine charges.
In the MUA’s last pricing assessment in 2020, it said no increase was proposed for 2021-22 and that there are no changes to the expected average domestic charges, as set out below:
Electricity £645 (based on 3,200 kWh); water £319 (based on rateable value of £134); and sewerage £293 (based on rateable value of £135).
The MUA said: ’Charges in a small, island location are likely to be higher than for a larger location with a higher density of customers. The above charges have been compared to other jurisdictions as follows: On average, Manx Utilities’ electricity charges have been 10-15% above those of the United Kingdom although Manx Utilities’ charges are currently in line with United Kingdom variable pricing.
’Based on 3,600 kWh annual usage, Manx Utilities’ electricity charge is £716 compared to a United Kingdom average of £679 (+5%).’
MUA’s Sustainable Generation tariff for customers wishing to install renewable, private generation such as solar panels, is a ’bolt on’ which can be added to any existing customer tariffs and is currently limited to 10 kWh private generation capacity for domestic customers and 50 kWh private generation capacity for commercial customers.
The next five-yearly review by the MUA will be commissioned by the MUA and its findings agreed with the Department of Infrastructure and the Treasury during 2023.
Annual increases for general inflation, based on the Isle of Man 12-month Consumer Prices Index (CPI) to September 30 published in October each year.
In September 2020 inflation was -1.3% and there was no general increase.