During the Alderney Electricity’s (AEL) first public forum, Mike Richards, Chairman of AEL talked about energy prices.
Namely, Richards said that the residents would pay more for the renewable energy than they are currently paying for the oil that is being imported, This is Guernsey news portal informed.
Under the contact between AEL and Alderney Renewable Energy, the company that is planning to harness tidal energy offshore Alderney, residents would get fixed renewable energy prices of 20p per unit of electricity for the next 25 years. Compared to the current energy prices of 16.38p, this deal does not look cheap, but Richards explained:
‘I don’t know where you think fuel costs are going to go in 25 years’ time but they are not going to go down.
‘It may not be a popular agreement at the moment but it’s going to look a very reasonable price in 10 years’ time.’
He also said that the only way to lower the prices in the short term is to increase the number of the electricity consumers, whether via new residents or new businesses.
[mappress]
Offshore WIND staff, July 31, 2013; Image: are