Issue - meetings

Note:

1. As per the Mayor’s Forward Plan, a report is due to be submitted to the Cabinet on 6 December seeking approval for the appointment of Ameresco Ltd as the strategic partner for the City Leap Energy Partnership and to authorise officers to take all steps required to enter into the Partnership and any related matters.

2. A copy of the Cabinet report will be sent to OSMB members and published as a supplement to this agenda as soon as it is available ahead of the Cabinet meeting.  OSMB members will consider the report at this 5 December meeting with a view to their comments being submitted to the 6 December Cabinet meeting.

The Director for Property, Assets and Infrastructure delivered a presentation on the City Leap Energy Partnership which included the commitment to social value principles, the work undertaken to bring the project to the mobilisation stage, and the timeline for anticipated work.  Representatives from Ameresco and Vattenfall were present to discuss key points relating to the business plan and Heat Networks.

A Member asked how the £424million figure for investment was to be broken down between Heat Networks and other efficiency measures.  The Director for Ameresco Ltd clarified that this figure had been raised to closer to £600million, approximately split halfway between Heat Networks and low carbon infrastructure projects.

A Member queried the cost and expected CO² output of the proposed strategic heat main running from Avonmouth to Old Market. The Strategy Director for Vattenfall Heat stated that future work on viability was planned as a major infrastructure project with plans to access other sources of clean heat.

A Member asked about the protections for customers in terms of price and consistency of service, considering that a ‘heat monopoly’ would be in place. The Strategy Director for Vattenfall stated that with the progression of the Energy Bill through Government it was expected that heat would become a regulated industry with Ofgem in the position of regulator; this would provide the framework for ensuring consistency for customers. It was noted that public trust was a key component of the venture, with commitments around how pricing would be set made through customer supply agreements. Protections for vulnerable customers would also be in place.

A concern was raised that appointing a Council Officer as one of the Directors of City Leap could lead to potential conflicts of interest. In previous circumstances backbench Councillors had been appointed to these roles, and a Member suggested that this route be considered.

It was confirmed that the ‘Golden’ or special share retained by Bristol City Council would fall away once Ofgem was to be appointed. A Member noted that the ‘special share’ included strong guarantees, and asked Officers to consider how these guarantees would be maintained once the special shares were ended. It was clarified that the special share had been put in place to address the current lack of regulation in the industry. Once Ofgem are in place as a national regulator they are likely to have more wide-ranging powers in terms of guarantees and enforcement.

A Member asked how procurement oversight would be maintained given that the entities in the joint venture were not governed by public procurement law around local jobs. Officers stated that Key Performance Indicators for social value delivery were included in the concession agreement with enforceable consequences.

A Member raised concern that more information was needed to fully assess the viability of City Leap noting there had been some delays in sharing details with Scrutiny. Areas where additional details were required included the cost of legal and accountancy fees, the allowance for inflation against the figure of £424million for investment, the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7

Note:

1. As per the Mayor’s Forward Plan, a report is due to be submitted to the Cabinet on 6 December seeking approval for the appointment of Ameresco Ltd as the strategic partner for the City Leap Energy Partnership and to authorise officers to take all steps required to enter into the Partnership and any related matters.

2. A copy of the Cabinet report will be sent to OSMB members and published as a supplement to this agenda as soon as it is available ahead of the Cabinet meeting.  OSMB members will consider the report at this 29 November meeting with a view to their comments being submitted to the 6 December Cabinet meeting.

3. Certain aspects of the Cabinet report relating to particular financial and legal matters will be exempt from publication in accordance with access to information legislation.  It is anticipated that when this agenda item is reached, OSMB will first give consideration to these particular matters in ‘private’ exempt session (i.e. with the press and public excluded for that part of the meeting). It is likely that this exempt section of the meeting will last 30-45 minutes.  Once the exempt matters have been considered, the meeting will be re-opened to the press and public and it is anticipated that OSMB will then discuss the Cabinet report in public for a further (approximate) 45 minute period.