New Scilly energy tariff 'to launch in spring'
The Isles of Scilly will hopefully have its own energy tariff this spring.
Residents will be able to sign up to an energy deal specific to the islands' postcodes as part of the Smart Islands Programme.
Delivery of the tariff is part of the work of the new Isles of Scilly Community Venture, which was recently launched to share the benefits of a range of projects with the community of islanders and businesses.
Jim Wrigley, General Manager of the Community Venture, said: “A number of funded projects are taking place on Scilly as part of the Smart Islands Programme and the Community Venture has the unique job of ensuring the legacy of those projects can be shared for the benefit of the community on Scilly for years to come.”
The Community Venture has several key tasks in its early days as it aims to build momentum and become a sustainable business. The first is the recruitment of a Board of Directors and an Advisory Group to help shape the company, give it strategic direction and ensure that its community purpose becomes truly embedded.
The second will be the launch of a new energy deal (electricity tariff) which will only be made available to postcodes on the Isles of Scilly.
Jim, who has just relocated to Scilly with his family from Boscastle, went on to say: “The new energy deal in the form of an electricity tariff is the part that really underpins how we will share the benefits with the community. As the various projects in energy, waste and transport move over to the Community Venture, they will start to generate an income stream.
“This in turn will be used to reduce the electricity bills of everyone signed up to the energy tariff. It will take time but we hope that while energy bills on the mainland will slowly creep up, bills on Scilly will go down!”
To fulfil the regulatory requirements of the Office of Gas and Electricity Market (OFGEM), the Community Venture will be partnering with a licensed energy supplier to provide the new electricity tariff, which it aims to launch around April this year.
If you are interested in in applying to become part of the new Board of Directors of the Advisory Group, please go to www.smartislands.org/jobs for more information. The closing date for applications of interest is January 15th 2018.
The Smart Islands programme on the Isles of Scilly is included in the Government’s Industrial Strategy, which was published in November 2017.