Jersey Gas has lost a battle with utility rivals Jersey Electricity Company (JEC) over claims that electric power costs three times more carbon equivalent than gas.
In a regional press ad, Jersey Gas publicly challenged a decision by the island's Environment Department to rely on electricity as the sole source of heating.
The advert claimed: “...the States of Jersey Environment Department think that electricity is low carbon and good for the environment. They are wrong. On island electricity generation is high carbon. about 3 times that of gas. The JEC will confirm this.
“European electricity - what do the French think? The French Secretary of State for Ecology … interviewed in Le Monde, 1 October 2008, “We have a serious problem with electricity heating in France. It was a mistake to develop it …”
However, in a complaint to the UK's Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), the JEC argued the ad claim "Electricity is not a low carbon fuel" was misleading, because the blended carbon intensity figure for electricity supplied to customers in Jersey (as a result of both imported and locally generated electricity) demonstrated a lower carbon intensity for electricity than gas.
JG argued the carbon intensity of liquid petroleum gas (LPG) was 0.214 kg CO2/kWh according to the UK Carbon Trust. They said JEC had two means of supplying electric heating power on demand: using on-island generation, which evidence to the States of Jersey Environment Scrutiny Panel showed to have a carbon intensity of 0.9 kg CO2/kWh and imported electricity from Europe, which had a carbon intensity of 0.5 - 0.6 kg CO2/kWh according to the French Environment and Energy Management Agency and the Gestionnaire du Reseau de Transport dElectricite (RTE) who operated the national electric grid.
Upholding the complaint by JEC, the advertising watchdog ruled: “We noted the combined carbon intensity figure for electricity, when calculated by JEC, was lower than the published carbon intensity figure for gas heating and also lower than that calculated for electricity by JG.
“This was because in its calculation, JG incorporated electricity imported from European countries outside France (which was needed in order to meet electricity supply throughout the country at peak periods during Winter months) whereas JEC said they imported electricity only from EDF in France and, therefore, believed it was reasonable to use the carbon intensity figure for electricity generated only by EDF.
“We acknowledged that there was some discrepancy between JEC and JG over the actual carbon intensity figure for blended electricity distributed amongst Jersey electricity customers.
“We understood from the Carbon Trust that a reasonable carbon intensity figure for electricity generated by EDF in France, which was imported into Jersey, was 0.092 kg CO2/kWh. We also understood that a small proportion, less than 10%, of electricity used by JEC was generated on the island and that this accounted for an increase in the overall carbon intensity figure for blended electricity for JEC customers.
“Although the actual amount was increased from the EDF-only figure, we were satisfied that it remained lower than the published carbon intensity figure for LPG heating on Jersey.”
The ASA banned Jersey Gas from making the same claims again.
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