Agreement reached to keep electricity running in Sark

An agreement has been reached at the eleventh hour between Chief Pleas and Sark Electricity to keep the power on and avoid any disconnection.

The two parties initially failed to reach a deal during a meeting on Wednesday evening and the power was set to be cut off at midnight tonight.

Sark Electricity had been in dispute with Chief Pleas for a number of months after the government forced the company to drop its price 14 pence to 52p per unit recommended by an independent price regulator.

The agreement reached last night now states the price of electricity will go back up to 66p per unit to allow the company to sell supplies without losing money.

Sark's government now has three months to buy Sark Electricity.

Customers will not have to pay the difference between 66p and the 52p that Sark Electricity has been charging for the last three months.

Islanders were preparing for the switch off which would have left them without a clean water supply, heating or light.

The government had contingency plans in place, last week bringing over generators which were set to reconnect the vital parts of the island.

Guernsey's Chief Minister says the situation will continue to be monitored.