Agenda and draft minutes

1.            Andy Morgan had had been working in energy efficiency and procurement for 25 years since graduating as an Energy Engineer. Andy has been with LASER for 12 years. His role was initially focussed on energy efficiency within the KCC estate and Kent Schools. Andy was now 2nd in command of the LASER business and directly responsible for 3 of LASER’s service areas:

            Energy Bureau Services (Team of 9)

·                     Mandatory energy and carbon reporting

·                     Invoice validation

·                     Energy data management

            Energy Surveying (Team of 3)

·                     Provide mandatory Display Energy Certificates for KCC, School and other LASER customer sites

·                     Provide Energy Surveys and reports on saving energy

            LED Energy Efficient Lighting service (Team of 3 plus contractor)

·                     Provide a lighting upgrade service to LASER customers

·                     Typically reducing electricity used for lighting by 60% to 70%

2.            Andy gave a presentation using overheads.  Local Authority South East Region (LASER) was a Commercial Service created by KCC in 1989 to procure gas and electricity through the newly deregulated energy market. LASER has now grown such that it buys around £400 million worth of energy per year for Councils and other public bodies (including Universities and NHS Trusts) across the UK.

3.            In addition to energy procurement KCC LASER provides related services around contract management, energy invoice validation, mandatory Govt. energy and carbon reporting, and energy saving services.

4.            KCC now has only 4% of turnover.  LASER buy £450 million of energy per annum.  This had produced £28 million of savings per annum to customers.  This is generated income by Commercial Services to KCC.  This is carried out by procuring energy using sophisticated “flex techniques by consistently watch the energy markets.

5.            LASER had access to wholesale markets through two energy suppliers which was totally transparent.  This minimised supplier fees and maximised market opportunities.

6.            LASER also provided a number of additional services including:

Energy invoice management – This involved the invoices from suppliers being check and a bill then being sent out on LASER headed paper.

7.            Data and reporting – This service offered data on how much the customer was spending on energy and how much they were using.

8.            LASER offered site surveying and certification; and

9.            Installing low energy (LED) lighting – This was supplied to schools and other councils across the country.

10.         Andy considered that energy security was a broad issue but broke this down into two key issues:

            Long Term – Looking at primary fuels and generation including Gas, Coal, Nuclear, Wind and Solar; and

            Short term – Managing the winter peaks by having a fast response electricity generation and fast response demand reduction.

11.       He referred to a graph that showed electricity generation and the mix of energy sources. This showed an equal split between the use of nuclear, coal and gas.

12.       Andy advised on the current government policy direction.  He explained that the government was pro nuclear and pro interconnectors [this was the export of energy between European countries and interconnectors with Scandinavian hydro generation.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 16.

Carolyn McKenzie (Head of Sustainable Business and Community), Dr Adam Morris (KES Intelligence and Commissioning Manager), Steve Baggs (Energy Manager), Neil Hilkene (Economic & Spatial Development Officer) (Kent County Council) and Andy Morgan (Head of Energy Management, LASER Energy Group) were in attendance for this item.

(1)             The Chairman welcomed the guests to the meeting and invited them to introduce themselves. Neil explained that he was the Economic & Spatial Development Officer. Adam explained that he was responsible for supporting the Kent Environment Strategy; his background was in geology and had written the Fusion Unconventional Gas briefing for Members. Steve explained that he was responsible for reducing energy costs, improving energy efficiency and setting up renewable energy projects on the KCC estate; prior to his employment with KCC he worked for LASER.

(2)          The Chairman noted that Carolyn as Head of Sustainable Business & Communities had attended a number of the Select Committee’s hearings. He then invited Carolyn to provide an overview of the work being carried out by KCC. Carolyn stated that within the revised Kent Environment Strategy a number of priorities had been set out including reducing energy demand and moving towards a sustainable future. An action plan is being developed to identify partnership activities that will be delivering on those priorities. . She highlighted the Renewable Energy for Kent report, produced by AECOM that informed the 2013 Renewable Energy Action Plan (REAP) for Kent; the report looked at onshore renewable energy and identified a number of potential viable sources in Kent including onshore wind and district heating. She noted that the Growth and Infrastructure Framework stated what was needed in Kent in terms of growth, whilst the Kent Environment Strategy will inform how this can be provided sustainably.

(3)          Carolyn highlighted work currently being carried out by KCC including the Department of Energy & Climate Change's  Heat Networks Delivery Unit (HNDU) funded feasibility study into the possibility of creating a District Heating Network in Maidstone, the creation of the  Sheppey Community Energy Project and  continuation of ISO 14001 accreditation for KCC. She noted that since 2010 KCC had achieved a 15.9% carbon reduction and had invested £3 million on its estate which had resulted in £13.1million of energy savings. She reported that KCC had been awarded a £22 million interest free government loan as part funding for a £40 million project to convert all of its street lights to Light Emitting Diode (LED) technology. She stated that KCC led on the Low Carbon Plus project in Kent which provided grants to businesses operating within the Low Carbon Environmental Goods and Services (LCEGS) section, further funding has been applied for LOCASE which will also provide grants to LCEGS business and  to help them improve their estates. She also noted that KCC was involved in the Warm Home Scheme, a partnership project with district authorities to support residents in Kent and Medway to save energy in their homes

(4)          Carolyn reported a number of challenges to KCC including the installation of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 17.