WHEN energy prices rise the public’s thoughts turn first to the likely impact of the changes on household budgets.

They should, however, also consider the effect of any increases on public sector spending and on the way in which the allocation of tax revenue might have to be readjusted. Such an exercise has been launched and in part completed by Deputy Phil Rondel – newly re-elected to the States and now the chairman of the Environment Scrutiny panel.

And the results of the exercise are so far both interesting and alarming, it having been revealed that every day £25,000 of public money is spent on heating and lighting and that, all told, the States energy bill comes to over £9 million a year.

Deputy Rondel says that this is excessive – on the grounds that savings can be made by a more considered approach to energy use. If this sort of attitude is appropriate for ordinary Islanders eager to cut household spending, it should most certainly be adopted by those who control the public purse strings.

The Deputy has rightly suggested that keeping street lights on all night in some areas – notably Victoria Avenue – is a waste of money and valuable resources. It should not require too much in the way of observation, analysis and lateral thinking to identify many other instances of unnecessary energy consumption.

It is also possible that energy efficiency measures which do not involve cutting or limiting services can be devised. For example, tentative investigations have begun into the potential of geothermal energy sources. There might be no such thing as free energy any more than there are free lunches, but tapping into the heat to be found deep in the rocks under the Island could make a great deal of sense.

Our geographical position and limited natural resources mean that we shall always have to import energy or sources of energy. That said, any measures that can cost-effectively minimise the flow of electricity through the undersea cable links with France or limit the quantity of fuels which must be shipped into the Island by tanker must be investigated vigorously.

Meanwhile, it is heartening to see that Deputy Rondel, who, during his previous spell in the States, earned a reputation for asking awkward questions, has hit the ground running in his new incarnation as a Scrutiny chairman.