The Communications and Utilities Regulatory Authority (CURA) has started its latest review of gas prices.

Regulations require two tariff reviews to be carried out each year, with new tariffs subsequently being introduced where required.

This is the first of those two annual assessments.

The last enforced reduction from CURA, which regulates the Isle of Man’s gas market, of 16% means that bills are currently 13.98p per unit.

Though global costs have reduced, this review will take into account the cost of buying gas ahead of time.

CURA said: ‘The key aim of this review is therefore to reduce any likely over or under-recovery so that subsequent period adjustments are kept to a minimum.

‘The authority has consistently advocated for tariff stability being in the interest of all stakeholders.’

It added: ‘This is the mid-year review which is a scheduled review rather than triggered by market movements.’

It explained the authority has requested the information it requires to perform the review from Isle of Man Energy.

From this, the gas regulator will make a decision ‘as soon as possible’ after it’s received.

CURA will also ‘liaise directly with Isle of Man Energy and other stakeholders as required’ during its review.

‘The review will concentrate on the impact of commodity prices on the tariff,’ CURA said.

‘It should be kept in mind that while commodity markets have seen prices reduce to levels close to traditional norms, the authority also takes into account forward purchases.

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‘Hedged positions reflect the commodity prices when they were purchased, not the current market rates.’

It continued: ‘Under the Gas (Tariff Fixing) (Parameters) Regulations 2022 (the Regulations) the public gas supplier must not fix tariffs that are likely to result in its allowed revenue being exceeded in a relevant period.

‘The regulations also formalise the tariff setting process by requiring Isle of Man Energy to set its tariffs in such a way that it complies with specified parameters.

‘The authority would like to highlight that under the above regulations the overall return earned by Isle of Man Energy is restricted and that any over or under-recovery is reflected when calculating tariffs in subsequent periods.’

As well as its two annual review, CURA also has the powers to trigger a review when the market costs fluctuate by more than 10% in either direction.

This framework was agreed by Tynwald early last year.

It led to prices being assessed in October 2022, where a reduction of tariffs was determined to be ‘warranted’.

A further information notice outlining the outcome of this review will be ‘published in due course’, according to CURA.

The authority says it’s working to complete the review ‘as quickly as possible’.