But price rise is limited by careful forward planning ensuring natural gas users are still benefiting from a 13.1% saving since April this year.

From the 12th November this year, gas prices and standing charges will be increasing by 3.9% for all customers. In addition for LPG customers the fuel cost adjustment will be increased by 0.221 pence per unit. These increases are necessary due to the underlying upward movement in both the gas and crude oil wholesale markets The rise for natural gas central heating customers equates to 0.19p per unit which would be just £0.79 per week (£40.90 per year) based on an average annual consumption of 20,500 units. LPG is more directly linked to the increasingly volatile oil market (which has recently hit record highs of over $89 a barrel, see graph) and subsequently, the increase in LPG prices is higher than natural gas showing an increase of £1.94 per week (£101 per year) for a central heating customer again using 20,500 units per year. This equates to an average increase of 6.52% for all LPG customers

 

Commenting on the price increase, Managing Director Alan Bates said, 'We take our responsibility to all our customers seriously and this small increase has come after months of monitoring increasingly volatile markets. We were hoping that the market would regain some consistency and have put off any rises until the last minute. Even with these rises, we have delivered overall savings to our natural gas central heating customers of 13.1% (£166) this year and the prices are less than they were two years ago. We fully understand the impact of any rises for our customers and will continue to monitor the markets carefully and where prudent will purchase gas on the forward market to give price certainty.'

 

There are other ways gas customers can compensate for the small increase and help reduce their carbon emissions at the same time. Manx Gas is currently promoting a range of energy efficient condensing gas boilers. Replacing an older, non-condensing boiler could reduce heating bills by up to a third and cut carbon emissions. Alan Bates further commented, 'Gas is the cleanest of all the fossil fuels and has 99.9% less sulphur dioxide emissions than oil. Switching from oil to gas can reduce carbon emissions by almost 30%. We are committed to informing the public of both the environmental and financial benefits of installing a condensing boiler. We are even planting a tree for every new boiler we sell.'

 

The increases have been discussed with the Office of Fair Trading

 

Manx Gas is a multi-faceted gas utility company, working for the Isle of Man and making gas available Island-wide. It operates a 'one-stop shop' for all gas needs, from supplying and maintaining the gas, through to planning and installations, servicing support, plus the sale of new appliances. A round-the-clock safety and emergency service is provided.
Manx Gas directly employs around 100 people and provides regular work for well over 100 CORGI-registered gas installers. About 200 local companies supply goods and services to Manx Gas. The company operates a fleet of support vehicles, from bulk gas containers to cylinder delivery wagons, mains layers and customer service vans. It maintains more than 250 miles of underground pipelines.

 

At Manx Gas, we believe passionately in our corporate responsibility to our customers, our community, our people and the environment we all live in

 

Further comment available regarding this press release:

Alan Bates, Managing Director Manx Gas Limited.

Tel: 01624 644444 or email: alan.bates@manxgas.co.im

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