Agenda item

Chris Harris introduced the report which sought to update the Schools’ Forum on a number of energy related matters including; the transfer of electricity meters to EDF as part of the Council’s central energy portfolio; the Council’s current Purchasing Strategy; the current Environment Strategy and also the best ways to engage with schools regarding energy issues.

The purpose of the paper was to provide an update on some changes to the central energy contract. A number of schools were part of this contract and benefitted from economies of scale and the ability to obtain cheaper energy prices. The current framework was provided through Crown Commercial Service (CCS) and there was currently two electricity suppliers including EDF and British Gas. From 1^st April 2021 the arrangement with British Gas would cease and meters would be transferred to EDF. There would be no costs associated with the transfer but there would be a process change in the way the billing was carried out. Invoices from EDF would be received centrally at the Council and a process would be put in place whereby the Council sent the information to school sites on a monthly basis.

Chris Harris reported that as part of the EDF contract the Energy Team were looking to do an exercise whereby they benchmarked the CCS framework against alterative providers to ensure value for money was still being offered. A brief benchmarking exercise had been carried out to date and had indicated that the CCS contract was still offering good value for money.

Catie Colston raised a query regarding timescales of the transfer as she noted that some admin work was involved and the 1^st April was immediately prior to the Easter holidays which could pose a problem if schools were expected to use a new system. Chris Harris referred to the admin work mentioned and confirmed that he would be completing most of this and it was already underway. All that would be required from schools involved in the contract was clarification of the billing process and who the invoices needed to be sent to. Chris Harris confirmed that he would liaise with schools and EDF.

Ian Nichol raised a query regarding renewable energy and felt that it would be helpful to have more information on this in terms of the progress on the roll out to schools. Chris Harris reported that this was something the Energy Team would be able to provide and he would feed the information back to Phil Newton in this Team.

RESOLVED that:

·         Phil Newton would be approached regarding providing an update on the roll out of renewable energy to schools.

·         The Schools’ Forum noted the report.