Channel island's lights stay on after deal on power

The lights will stay on across the English Channel island of Sark after a last-minute agreement was struck in a dispute on the cost of power.

Sark Electricity had threatened to shut off the supply at midnight Friday to hundreds of households after a government regulator ordered the firm to cut its prices. The firm had argued it made providing power too expensive.

The dispute had been heated, with Sark Electricity, a family-owned operation, arguing it had provided electricity to Sark for over 50 years without subsidy. It had claimed the government was trying to force it into bankruptcy.

The island's government, the Chief Pleas, agreed Friday to conduct a valuation from which a purchase might be agreed.

Sark, which forms part of Guernsey, is off the coast of France.