START TAKING ACTION NOW TO MINIMISE YOUR ENERGY BILLS IN 2024!

With the Energy Bill Relief Scheme (EBRS) being replaced by the Energy Business Discount Scheme (EBDS) on April 1st, many organisations are facing rises in energy costs despite the recent falls in wholesale energy prices. The rises stem from the reduction in Government subsidy from £18Bn for the six months of the EBRS to £5.5Bn for the initial 12 months of EBDS. The EBDS has a two-tier discount level with a higher discount being provided to selected energy intensive organisations. As the public sector is not considered to be one of the energy intensive sectors, we have put together a five steps process that you should be taking to ensure that your energy procurement process minimises your costs whilst meeting the needs of your organisation on your journey to Net Zero.

Every organisation has a different measure of success, often driven by a multitude of factors. It is important that before you begin looking at your next energy procurement process that you identify the answers to the questions below.

What contract period do we want? 1, 2 or 3 years?

What percentage of our energy should come from renewable sources?

• What price point do we want/need to achieve?

• What budget certainty do we need?

• How will we benchmark performance throughout the contract?

In our experience, proactively consulting internal stakeholders before you begin the procurement process not only ensures the smoothest possible procurement process, but also means that key risk and compliance considerations are not overlooked. Key stakeholders to consult include:

• Finance – what terms do they want for payment, invoicing and credit?

• Estates – what reporting requirements do they have?

• Green Plan team – what projects do they have in the pipeline and what reporting requirements do they have?

• Transport – are they planning to roll out a new fleet of electric vehicles?

• Tenants – do they need recharging or have concessions?

Ensuring that you have all the correct information before you begin is critical to making the process as seamless as possible. Incorrect or missing information can delay the process unnecessarily, reducing the time your energy consultants have to find the best prices and possibly take advantage of beneficial market conditions. Three key areas to

• Sites – Do you have a full list of sites, including addresses, postcodes and site references?

• Meters – Do you have a complete list of MPANS, MPRNS and SPIDS.

• Consumption – Do you have a complete consumption data profile? HHD, EACs and AQs?

One of the biggest challenges for energy managers is factoring in what changes the organisation might be planning and how they will impact future energy consumption. Knowing the answer to the questions below will put you in a better place when developing your energy procurement strategy.

• Will there be any acquisitions or disposals of sites during the contract period?

• What from the Green Plan Action Plan is scheduled to be implemented during the contract period?

• Will there be any reduction in consumption due to energy efficiency projects such as LED lighting?

• Will there be any reduction due to the installation of on-site generation assets such as solar? Will there be any increase due to the installation of EV (Electric Vehicles) Charging?

The final step should be creating a strategic procurement plan that includes all of the following considerations:

• Contract type – do you want a fixed or flex contract type?

• Renewable mix – what renewable energy do you want? Do you want a PPA/GPA?

Volume tolerance – what level of tolerance do you want?

Reforecasting – Who is responsible and what frequency do you want?

• Sourcing – via a Public Buying Organisation or consultant or direct with supplier. Will you use a framework or Dynamic Purchasing System?

• Selection criteria – How will proposals be ranked? What impact will social and added value have?

• Sign off – What is the process, who has authority and what are the timescales?

Working through these five steps will help you run the best possible procurement process for 2024 onwards. However, you may be thinking what can I do right now to reduce my organisation’s energy consumption in 2023. Well, there are several steps you can take, from identifying and eliminating energy waste to installing on-site solar generation. We are helping a number of NHS Trust take steps to reduce their energy consumption through our unique, capital free, four step approach of access, reduce, measure and connect. Find out more by contacting us: www.eenergy.com, email tracey.fletcher@eenergy.com or call 02476 998 257