MANY hands make light work, or so the proverb goes. Except, it seems, in the case of an ordinance giving someone the right to compete with Guernsey Electricity.

In that instance, it seems, matters suddenly go very dark.

The first hands in the mix were those of the States which, in 2002, decided to ask the Office of Utility Regulation to examine and make recommendations on the impact of competition on the electricity supply market.

The answer, a few months later, was conclusively ‘not very much’. Consumers’ bills are almost exclusively made up of generation costs, with only 4% down to retail.

It was highly unlikely that a competitor would suddenly build a new power station in Guernsey, and any savings from retail competition would be minimal. Indeed, those that did come would quickly be wiped out by the costs of introducing that competition.

Not much joy there then.

But that did not stop the Board of Industry bringing the matter back to the States for its agreement to recommendations that, from the consumers’ point of view, would change nothing.

And there the matter languished – for six years – while the Law Officers drew up a 24-page ordinance implementing the will of the States.

Unfortunately, it is at this point in the tale that the lights go out.

In six long years, somebody failed to get around to consulting all the interested parties. One of them – Guernsey Electricity would be a good guess – saw the published ordinance and pointed out its deficiencies.

As a result, moments before taking its bow before the Assembly, the ordinance has had to be pulled for re-drafting.

And so, something which was highly unlikely ever to take a penny off a customers’ bill, has generated piles of paperwork and kept busy a host of civil servants, regulators and lawyers. All, presumably, at the taxpayers’ expense.

Understandably, no one is too keen to lay claim to this fine piece of burlesque as his or her own work. Perhaps someone in the States today would be kind enough to enlighten us.