Scott Parlett, Public Sector – Strategic Account Director, eEnergy.
When the Governments Energy Bill Relief Scheme (EBRS) ends on the 31st March, energy costs for most organisations will rise significantly. The new Energy Bill Discount Scheme (EBDS) looks to half the support provided by the EBRS with much of the focus on energy intensive organisations. This will mean all public sector organisations, who are already under severe financial pressure, will be under even more pressure from April.
The end of the EBRS also marks the end of the financial and carbon reporting period for 2022/23, meaning that organisations have just three months to meet carbon reduction targets, get new energy efficiency/carbon reduction projects implemented, and budget invested.
If your organisation hasn’t implemented your energy efficiency or carbon reduction projects or has a budget waiting to be allocated, all is not lost. There is still time to activate projects and invest in solutions that will reduce your energy bills and carbon footprint.
Is your lighting costing 65% more than it should?
One solution that can immediately impact your energy consumption and carbon footprint is installing new LED lighting. Traditional lighting systems typically use 65% more energy than modern LED technology and updating these systems significantly improves energy efficiency. With lighting making up 40% of many organisations’ electricity consumption, improving efficiency by 65% will dramatically impact your electricity consumption.
In addition to cost-savings, the move to new LED lighting has several other benefits, including improved light quality, colour rendering and operating conditions, reduced maintenance time and costs, increased operational facility availability and even reduced accidents and health and safety issues.
One final benefit often overlooked when installing new LED lighting is the impact on other systems. As we head into the summer months, lighting demand will be reduced. However, older, less efficient lighting generates unwanted heat in the summer, meaning air conditioning systems must work harder to maintain target temperatures. LED lighting does not generate unwanted heat, so the energy-intensive air conditioning systems don’t have to work so hard; hence, demand is reduced over the summer months.
If your organisation has already identified LED lighting as a project to be actioned before April, and you have a budget allocated, then there is still time to act. We can help you complete the project quickly and with the minimum disruption to business continuity. For those organisations without a budget allocated, but wanting to reduce their energy consumption, our ‘Lighting as a Service’ (LaaS) solution may be of interest.
Decarbonising your travel emissions and creating a new revenue source.
The start of 2023 also marks the UK being one year closer to the ban on selling new petrol and diesel cars, which comes into force in 2030. Many organisations are already procuring Electric Vehicles for their fleet or company vehicles. However, this is only part of the story; new EV sales are soaring, and in 2022 over 267,000 were sold, which equates to 16.6% of the new car market.
Access to EV charging is always a key consideration when deciding whether to switch to an electric vehicle. The lack of publicly available charging units is a significant challenge across the UK, but with all challenges, there is an opportunity too! Installing EV Charging units across your organisation will help you charge your electric fleet at a lower cost and open up a new revenue source.
The cost of managing and operating an EV charging infrastructure in the current energy market has its challenges. A key question for all public sector organisations is whether to install and run the units themselves or appoint a third-party operator. A key element in this decision-making process is the availability of a budget to invest in the solution.
We can help you address whether to install yourself or appoint a concession operator and remove the budget headache. Our EV charging solution, eCharge, allows you to rapidly deploy EV Charging without needing upfront investment. The flexible cloud-based system gives you complete transparency of charger utilisation and the control to set different tariffs for employees and the public.
To learn more about how eEnergy can help you become more energy efficient and unlock a new revenue stream, visit www.eenergy.com email tracey.fletcher@eenergy.com or call 02476 998 257 and speak to Tracey.