Decision details

Cabinet:

1. Endorsed the establishment of an Energy task force, to develop no and low-cost proposals for energy actions and assign tasks to appropriate managers to reduce energy demand.
2. Approved the development of a small-scale pilot to resolve procurement issues and test operation of the proposed future Sleeved Pool electricity supply model, subject to the appointment of the proposed City Leap Strategic Partner and confirmation of their role in relation to the operation of the Sleeved Pool.
3. Approved the development, launch, and use of a 10-year Dynamic Purchasing System for improved metering and data collection services, within a £3M spend envelope for BCC metering and data collection services over the lifetime of the proposed DPS.
4. Approved the introduction of measured consumption (where feasible) as the basis for charging commercial tenants located within Council corporate buildings for energy and water supplied from Council funded supply contracts.
5. Noted changing the Council’s gas supply contracts from fixed to flexible pricing, in line with delegated authority granted for procurement of energy supply at the December 2020 Cabinet meeting.
6. Delegated authority to the Executive Director Growth and Regeneration to decide, in consultation with Cabinet Member for Climate, Ecology, Energy and Waste, between an extension of the current grid-supply Dynamic Purchasing System by 2½ years (from Oct 2023 to March 2026), or joining a suitable Public Sector Buying Organisation framework, depending on the best route to market for flexible gas supply contracting, with approval for a £12M spend envelope over four years as set out in Appendix A.
7. Authorised the Executive Director Growth and Regeneration in consultation with Cabinet Member for Climate, Ecology, Energy and Waste, to procure/award/extend/vary the contracts outlined above, in-line with the procurement routes and maximum budget envelopes outlined in this report (Appendix A) or in line with budget envelop approved by full council, noting the associated Procurement and Legal commentaries.  This Authority includes decisions above the key decision threshold for which the details are included in Appendix A of the report.
8. Noted the current gas and electricity supply contracts have been extended by three months, from Oct 21 – Dec 21 for electricity and Nov 21 – Jan 22 for gas, by Officer Executive Decision, in order to avoid locking the Council in to high market prices for longer than necessary. Urgent Key Decision were taken on 4th January 2022 and 10th January 2022 to further extend or re-let the electricity supply contracts for another three months (ending 31st Mar 22). These decisions are set out in Appendix A, Annex 3 of the report.