MHK: We Don’t Need Manx Gas

Manx Gas has said comments made by Garff MHK Andrew Smith are ‘misinformed and often incorrect’.

Mr Smith was speaking on Isle of Man TV’s weekend show with Paul Moulton alongside Onchan MHK and chair of Manx Utilities Rob Callister and retired MHK Chris Robertshaw.

During the discussion on energy prices on the island, Paul asked Mr Smith directly whether there is a need for Manx Gas, the MHK told him bluntly ‘no’.

Mr Smith added: ‘Since I’ve been here [in Tynwald], I believe my first major issue in Tynwald, after the election, was having to vote for 27.5% [increase in the price cap] for Manx Gas. I was very uncomfortable with that, as you can appreciate, I asked for accounts, I asked for forecasts from both Manx Gas and the regulator.’ 

When asked by Paul whether he got them, Mr Smith said: ‘No. They all said the usual thing, GDPR, corporate sensitivity, this, that, one thing and another.

‘And I’m telling it as it is, I’m not pulling any punches here. I went to Jersey on a Commonwealth Parliamentary Association visit and I said to the Chief Executive [IEG Jo Cox] because I know the good lady moves between islands, I said I’m down in Jersey, I’d like a meeting, agreed to have the meeting, but over the screen. Myself and the Clerk of Tynwald had that meeting over the screen, I asked all these questions again and nothing was forthcoming and all I received really was the usual platitudes.

‘In fairness, I didn’t manage to get to the last presentation that they made a couple of months ago, but what I hear from members that did attend is that nothing’s changed from the meeting I had in November. So we were now in January, another two months down the line.’

The directness of Mr Smith’s response clearly surprised Paul who said his comments were ‘extraordinary’ and ‘incredible’. To which the MHK said ‘this is my personal experience’. 

Mr Smith added: ‘So I say to myself, we’ve now got further meetings coming up with the regulator, so I say fine, but I say if we’re in this position as a government, that we can’t have a meaningful, ongoing, honest, dialogue with the major energy provider for our island then where are we going? What’s happening?’

When Paul asked him whether he believed the gov should take over Manx Gas, Mr Smith said: ‘No I’m not suggesting that, but can we do any worse?’

Who Owns What?

The discussion then turned to the question of who owns what of the island’s gas infrastructure. Mr Callister explained that the gov (aka the taxpayer) owns the majority of the infrastructure, except for the ‘last few metres into properties’. However, when Paul asked Mr Callister the same question, the utility chairman said he was ‘gonna hold my powder on that one’. 

He added: ‘They are a customer of Manx Utilities and I also have very strong opinions on this as an MHK and I’m going to hold them. But I will actually say that they are going through the same energy crisis as Manx Utilities. I think that MU has done a fantastic job to limit prices over the past year, but with respect to the future of Manx Gas, I’m going to hold that back as they are a customer.’

Mr Callister did confirm to Paul that Manx Utilities buys the gas and sells it to Manx Gas at cost, which then sells it to islanders while seeking to make a profit.

Manx Gas’ Response

In response to Mr Smith’s comment, a spokesperson for Manx Gas’ parent company Island Energy Group, said: ‘It is disappointing to hear misinformed and often incorrect comments such as these from an individual member of Tynwald. Manx Gas provides detailed financial information to CURA and to Treasury on at least a quarterly basis, often more regularly. Since September we have been encouraging people to engage with us so that we can provide them with the details needed to understand our business better and have been exceptionally open and honest with MHKs, including providing two presentations on our financial position during the energy crisis.

‘What we will not do, however, is provide sensitive commercial information to individual members of Tynwald, outside of any official channels. This is wholly inappropriate and we do not think it is right that an MHK should criticise Manx Gas, a private company, for not complying with a request of this nature.’

When we asked the company what benefit it brings to islanders, the spokesperson added: ‘Manx Gas’ role is to be customer-focused. On a simple level, our job is to buy gas ‘wholesale’ and supply it to our customers. 

‘However this is not as straightforward as it sounds. We provide a complex network of assets and services, such as meters and our billing process, that enables the supply of gas into homes. We also provide a team of engineers and customer service agents all geared to providing the best experience possible, and who are also here in case of emergency to maintain the highest levels of safety. We play a valuable role in making the supply of gas for heating and eating simple, safe and secure for our customers.’