New Year? Higher Household Bills

Our water and electric bills will rise in the new year, as will the cost of sending post.

A new year commonly brings price rises, and islanders are being reminded 2023 will mean bigger household bills.

In October, Jersey Water confirmed a 6% rise in their tariffs from January.

CEO, Helier Smith said it was due to a rises in transport, energy and labour costs.

"Like many businesses we are experiencing sizeable increases in our operating costs including energy, raw materials, labour, transport, and financing.

These cost increases are driven by factors outside of our control including the effects of Brexit, Covid and the war in Ukraine on supply chains and financial markets."

But, he insisted that the below inflation rise has been kept as small as possible.

"We are acutely aware of the increased cost of living in Jersey and the impact that is having on household budgets. We have been actively doing what we can to shield customers from these increases, however, it is essential that Jersey Water maintains its capacity to invest in the island’s water supply infrastructure."

Electricity bills will also jump a further 5% on 1 January, which is on top of the 5% hike in July.

The dual increases mean islanders will be paying, on average, an extra £104 per year for their power compared to this time last year.

Jersey Electricity CEO, Chris Ambler defended the move in May, saying that other jurisdictions are facing much higher increases.

"Jersey's 10% rise is considerably less than other parts of the British Isles - with Guernsey facing a 20% hike, 25% in the Isle of Man, and analysts warning UK costs could rise between 40 and 50% by October this year.

Islanders are aware that global and European energy markets are in turmoil, although the electricity prices we pay for the 2022-24 period are largely hedged, we are not fully hedged nor completely immune to this volatility."

Gas prices rose in November by 5%, which added an extra £5 to the average monthly bill.

Jersey Post is also putting up prices from 1 January. 

The cost of sending a letter in Jersey will increase from 56p to 60p and the price of sending letter to the Bailiwick of Guernsey, Ilse of Man or the UK increasing to 98p from 82p.

Managing Director of Jersey Post, Niall McClure says the postal sector as a whole is facing significant pressure.

"One significant challenge for us in Jersey is the high cost of the mail plane. Using the plane allows for next day delivery for certain postal products to and from the UK. However, to operate the mail plane costs approximately £1.23 per item in conveyance charges.

Where we can, we have tried to minimise the costs next year to the end customer. For one of our most popular routes, the 100g letter to the UK, we are absorbing some of the cost by only charging 98p."

The postal service has kept local increases in line with June's inflation rate of 7.9% rather than the 32 year high of 10.4% in September.