PROUD pensioners will be hardest hit by the huge rise in the price of electricity, says Age Concern.
The charity’s Bailiwick chairman Deputy Jan Kuttelwascher said: ‘The older people with only their States pensions to live on are the ones who will be hit the hardest.’
The cost of electricity is set to rise by 17% from 1 April but Deputy Kuttelwascher said people tended to be too proud and suffered in silence.
‘The biggest problem is getting people to admit that they have a problem,’ he said.
The branch has a means-tested medical benefits scheme and he said if some people took advantage of that, it could free some of their other money for use on things such as heating.
Retired Union Members and OAP Association chairman John Guilbert found the increase hard to understand because much of the island’s electricity is imported via the French cable link and power there is largely nuclear-generated.
‘This will cause problems, particularly for the elderly, some of whom have no central heating and rely on electric fires,’ he said.
‘The way we live our lives nowadays is geared towards electricity.’
Those on supplementary benefit are entitled to claim fuel allowance to cover the period from the end of October to the end of April.
In September, the States agreed to a Social Security Department proposal for that to be increased by 17.7%.
Social Security minister Mark Dorey said the figure was based on the increase in the fuel, light and power section of the RPI figures.
‘I would not envisage any change in the allowance now,’ he said. ‘Certainly not before September at the earliest.’
Article posted on 26th January, 2009 - 2.29pm
6 Article Comments
Re: OAP’s and the increasing cost of electricty.
From a ‘learned technical’ point of view I am not qualified to speak on the following subject. But I am qualified to comment from a common sense point of view, which I do as follows:
Scientists are forecasting with increasing confidence that our planet IS NOT suffering from global warming but rather is fast becoming increasingly subject to ‘global COOLING’ and as such I am dissapointed that to the best of my knowledge no mention has been made in these posts of solar power and wind power.
As I understand it – once the initial cost is paid off – solar and wind power will be the cleanest, safest, most economical – and eventually FREE – power for all of us to use for our heating/light/cooking and multitude of commercial needs. ‘Free’, that is, providing we do not allow any commercial enterprise to ‘privatize’ both power sources following which they would charge us an ‘arm and a leg’ for the use of it much the same as ‘privatized’ sources are, I understand, now gouging Brits for their drinking water.
The initial costs of installing solar and wind power will be high, and solar panels may look somewhat ugly sitting up there on our pantile rooves. Wind turbine ‘windmills’ too will not look any where near as beautiful as a stand of full-leaf decidious trees…..(can’t we manufacture wind turbines with ‘leaves’ already depicted on the turbines blades plus ‘tree bark’ depicted on the windmill’s column?)….but what a wonderful world it will be for Guernsey the day we start using our common sense by using solar power and wind power for our power needs much the same as some of our European neighbours and California are already doing.
Point is, if we invest in solar power and wind power and reach the wonderful stage where ‘power’ is free for all, perhaps OAP’s and other low income earners would not have to spend their hard won final few years in semi-misery.
By the way, the use of nuclear power is, for me, a non starter. Not only is it lethal to human health but constant ’storage’ has to be found for continuous billions of tons of useless and very dangerous nuclear waste left behind from nuclear power plants.
Currently, nuclear waste is dumped into our oceans and/ or buried below ground where it will remain for centuries if not forever as permanent ‘pollution’. This action is appalling!
For instance, nuclear waste has been dumped off the coast of Africa by ships from Western nations for many years and the ‘Pirates’ we read about in the media are not ‘Pirates’ but the inhabitants of the land adjacent to where the nuclear waste has been dumped, waste that has totally detroyed their fishing grounds and, consequently, their livelihood.
These ‘locals’ termed ‘Pirates’ are simply ‘hijacking’ large ships from the western world and are then demanding cash for their return as a response to having had their lives destroyed by the same Western nations. Would our Guernsey fisherman and allied trades do the same?
Finally, in my estimation we must immediately demand and insist that our governing bodies concentrate on the use of solar and wind power for our needs in order that we can do away completly with fossil fuels.
Any comments from those more learned than I?
Thank you.
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Its terrible but they should not be allowed to cut off their utilities without a special court hearing.
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“electricity is imported via the French cable link and power there is largely nuclear-generated.”
This was the lie that was sold to the people of Guernsey. Spend 30million and get cheap fuel. Unfortunately the French supplier, name escapes me, either a) changed the rules or b) Guernsey in its useless contract negotiating way probably messed something up.
Bille Bell specifically sold this to the island based on energy security and access to cheaper electrical choice. Fact!
Do you know what the next expense will be? The cable itself, only had, I seem to remember, a 15 or 20 year life span? Might need to check that one though.
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Oh well, I guess no one on Guernsey is interested in free electricity………..
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Am I right in recalling that there was also a communication cable in the multi million package?
A cable given to Cable and Wireless a few years later!!!
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Correct SJ, that’s what happened. We gave the fibre optic to CW…..along with 12million in cash.
Don’t!!!!
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