REF: PT05071Y 1

Gloucester City CouncilCommittee : Gloucester Leadership Team

Cabinet BriefingCabinet

Date : 5th July 201113th July 201127th July 2011

Subject : City Council energy costs, consumption and monitoring report

Decision Type : ExecutiveWard : AllReport By : Cabinet Member for Regeneration & Culture

Cabinet Member for EnvironmentNo. of Appendices : NoneReference No. : PT05071Y (final version 7/7/11)

1.0 Purpose of Report

1.1 To report on energy costs and consumption in the Council’s buildings over the year 2010-11 and advise Members on recent trends in consumption.

2.0 Recommendations

2.1 That Cabinet notes the contents of the report.

3.0 Background

General Background

3.1 Gloucester City Council adopted an Energy Management Strategy in 2003 and Climate Change Strategy in 2008. One of the key commitments in these strategies was to monitoring of energy consumption with a report annually to Cabinet.

3.2 The Council’s various operational buildings and sites, which include the Docks headquarters, leisure complexes and the crematoria, consume significant quantities of gas and electricity. The combined gas / electricity bill for the year 2010-11 was £847,800. This is over £2300 per day.

3.3 The energy consumed in 2010-11 resulted in the production of 4238 tonnes of CO2. This was a decrease of 200 tonnes or 4.5% on the previous year. It is very encouraging that despite factors such as the severe weather conditions (it was one of the coldest winters since records began) we managed to reduce energy use. However, it shows how important further investment in energy efficiency is needed in order to continue this downward trend.

REF: PT05071Y 2

3.4 The table below shows the trends in energy consumption over the last 7 years with annual increase and decrease.

Gloucester City Council Energy use from main buildings in kWh 2004-2011

ENERGY TRENDS FOR GLOUCESTER CITY COUNCIL FROM 2004-2011 in kWh Long term Trend + -

Short termTrend+ -

Year 2004-5 2005-6 2006-7 2007-8 2008-9 2009-10 2010-11 7 year 1 year

Gas kWH 9866136 9908579 8921256 10463609 11332671 12344670 11148613 +13% -10%

Electric kWH

5003549 4909986 4997555 4895939 4999613 5082965 5087818 +2% +1%

Total kWh 14869685 14818565 13918811 15359548 16332284 17427635 16236431 +9% -7%

Total in tonnes CO2

4556 4512 4377 4460 4203 4438 4238 -7% -4%

NB Includes electricity generated by CHP Plant at GL1 from2007-8 onwards.

3.5 Given the current pressure on budgets, it is imperative that energy costs are brought down. As prices are increasing steadily the need for good financial planning can be very important to anticipate changes. Our two main energy sources are gas and electricity. The new supply contract from West Mercia is scheduled to deliver significant savings over its predecessor of at least 10% and potentially more. In addition initiatives such as the accommodation review will deliver reductions in energy use in operational buildings affected mainly at the docks offices.

3.6 In terms of climate change the burning of fossil fuels generates greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change. The City Council is committed to significantly reducing its carbon footprint through its action focused Climate Change Strategy. The main trend in the table is the long term increase in gas use 13% over the seven year period. The increase in gas use is explained in part by the introduction of the combined heat and power plant at GL1, this burns gas to generate electricity. The installation of gas chillers at HKP warehouses has also been a factor here along with severe winters. However this trend seems to have been reversed to some extent in the most recent year with a significant reduction of 10% due to new plant at guildhall and museum and improvements at the Crem.

However the relative stability of electricity use which has increased only by 2% over seven years is encouraging.

In terms of carbon dioxide emissions we are heading in the right direction by shifting away from electricity to gas and reducing these emissions by 7% overall. This is due to the onsite generation of some electricity at GL1.

3.7 In terms of the total 2010-11 energy bill the consumption can be broken down into the major operational sites as follows:-

REF: PT05071Y 3

Table 1 – Cost of Energy Consumption by Site for year 2008/9 and 2010/11

2008/9 2008/9 2008/9 2009/10 2009/10 2009/10 2010/11 2010/11 2010/11

Electricity Gas Utilities Electricity Gas Utilities Electricity Gas Utilities

Site

Amount

(£,000)

Amount

(£,000)

Totals

(£,000)

Amount

(£,000)

Amount

(£,000)

Totals

(£,000)

Amount

(£,000)

Amount

(£,000)

Totals

(£,000)GL1 116.5 213.3 329.8 186.7 335.9 522.5 191.0 295.9 486.9Oxstalls 24.2 13.4 37.5 38.1 17.6 55.7 46.4 19.7 66.2HKP + North 91.2 17.5 108.8 137.9 17.0 154.9 106.9 30.2 137.1Guildhall 16.0 14.1 30.1 30.8 9.1 40.0 10.5 5.6 16.2City Museum 10.3 9.4 19.6 15.6 14.7 30.3 8.5 8.1 16.5Folk Museum 6.6 4.4 11.0 3.5 6.4 10.0 7.8 3.1 10.8

TIC 1.6 0.9 2.5 0.6 0.3 0.8 2.0 0.4 2.5Depot 12.1 3.6 15.7 17.1 0.7 17.8 1.1 14.3 15.4Eastgate Market 36.4 0.1 36.5 57.8 0.1 57.8 36.6 0.0 36.6

Crematorium & Cemeteries

17.6 57.0 74.6 44.4 57.2 101.6 11.3 48.4 59.6

TOTALS 332.3 333.7 666.1 532.5 458.9 991.4 422.1 425.7 847.8

This information is also presented more graphically in pie chart form below:

Figure 1 – Pie Chart Showing Energy Consumption Cost 2010-11 by Site

REF: PT05071Y 4

3.8 The above data demonstrates, quite starkly, that GL1 is by far the biggest energy user in the Council’s property portfolio. The average cost for gas and electricity at GL1 is £1333 per day. This is more than three times the total energy bill for Docks office complex (North and HKP Warehouses). Oxstalls Tennis Centre is also a heavy energy user and, combined with GL1, the Council’s two sports / leisure facilities account for 66% of the total energy bill.

3.9 Other heavy energy users are the Docks office complex (16% / circa £137k p.a. and the Crematorium (11% / circa £103k p.a.).

3.10 Some other facts of interest are:

Winter heating for the Docks Offices (Herbert, Kimberley, Phillpotts and North) costs £463 per day.

Summer cooling by the gas powered chiller units for Herbert, Kimberley and Phillpotts Warehouses costs £62.20 per day.

Lighting the Docks Offices (Herbert, Kimberley, Phillpotts and North) costs £146.40 per day.

Energy Use Trends – All Sites

3.11 It should be noted that energy management is a very complex field and there are many unpredictable factors such as the weather (cold winters have a very pronounced effect on that year’s energy bill), perceptions of staff comfort / discomfort and the intensity of use of buildings.

3.12 Overall, energy consumption by the Council’s main buildings was on a downward trend up to 2006 then climbed up to a peak in 2010. Since that time it has gone down as illustrated in Figure 2 below. However, there has been a slight upward trend in gas usage, with consumption rising by about 13% over the seven years up 2011, although over that period CO2 emissions have reduced by 7% due to reductions in electricity use. This will in part be down to the Combined Heat and Power Plant (CHP) at GL1 which has reduced the electricity purchased from the grid at this site. The CHP uses gas to generate electricity with the ‘waste’ heat being used to warm the pool and building.

3.13 Some of the overall increase in energy use can be attributed to the repair and installation of previously non functioning fan coil units and the gas chiller for Herbert Kimberley and Phillpotts Warehouse. There was also a shut down at the Crematorium for 6 working days in July 2010 when mercury abatement technology was installed. There was also a spike in electricity at Oxstalls Tennis Centre when the football season began when the changing rooms get full use in September. Increased use of facilities such as GL1 and the Crematorium and the cold winter of 2009/10 are also significant factors in driving up consumption in the period 2006-10.Good energy management by site managers and installations such as the new pool covers at GL1 are the reasons for the reduction in gas use in 2010-11year.

3.14 The “all sites” energy consumption trends are shown in Figure 2 below:

REF: PT05071Y 5

Figure 2 Shows trend in energy use in main buildings in kWh 2004-11

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

14,000

16,000

18,000

20,000

2004/5 2005/6 2006/7 2007/8 2008/9 2009/10 2010/11

gas kWh

electricity kWh

total energy use kWh

Summary Change

Last 7 years Last 1 Year

Gas +25% -10% Decrease

Electricity -21% +1% Increase

Total +10% -8% Decrease

REF: PT05071Y 6

Figure 3 – Energy Cost Trends (£) for all main operational sites

3.15 The trends in energy bills are more dramatic reflecting the significant increase in unit costs.

Display Energy Certificates (DECs)

3.16 In October 2008 a European Directive made a “Display Energy Certificate” a requirement in all public buildings with more than 1,000 sq metres floor space. The Committee on Climate Change, set up under the Climate Change Act has recommended to government that DECs should be rolled out to all non residential buildings as a foundation step in reducing emissions.

3.17 DECs are similar to the ratings seen on household appliances and they grade buildings on a scale from A through to G, A being very efficient and G being very inefficient. The assessment looks, in particular, at thermal efficiency and energy use of buildings. The assessment is based on the actual amount of energy used in the 12 months prior to assessment. The rating is based on the performance of a similar public building being used for the same purpose. Eight buildings owned by Gloucester City Council were within the size criteria which requires a certificate and the most recent results are set out below:

REF: PT05071Y 7

Energy ratings for Council buildings

2008 2009 2010Oxstalls tennis centre B B CGuildhall Arts Centre B C CEastgate Market Hall B C BEastgate St Offices C D CCity Museum C C CNorth Warehouse D D EHerbert Kimberley Phillpotts E E EGL1 Leisure Centre E E E

3.18 The assessment gives an indication of the buildings general performance against a nationally agreed benchmark for similar public buildings. Eastgate market hall scores highest with a B rating though this building has no gas or space heating. The Guildhall and City Museums, both nineteenth century listed buildings, score quite well, with an above benchmark C rating. Eastgate Street offices also improved to C from the previous year. Both Oxstalls Tennis Centre and GL1 have low scores reflecting a legacy of the low energy efficiency standards they were built to. North Warehouse also performed badly but there are problems with the heating controls that have caused this which are to be addressed by mechanical and electrical engineers.

3.19 Overall the City Council’s portfolio scores fairly well, particularly when the historic characteristics of the listed buildings is taken into account. However, the high energy use in some of the buildings has resulted in lower ratings than previous years for both North Warehouse and Oxstalls Tennis Centre whereas Eastgate Market and Eastgate Street offices improved on their 2009 rating.

3.20 A related factor here is that as DECs are based on actual energy consumed they reflect not only the thermal efficiency of the building but also the activities, management and behaviours of those using and operating the building. That is to say a super efficient building might end up with a poor DEC as a result of human behaviours eg leaving lights and appliances on, heating on and windows open.

3.21 The advisory reports contain proposals and the recommendations for energy efficiency improvements to each building giving short, medium and long-term recommendations. These have been used to inform a programme of works to reduce energy consumption. The major projects within that programme are some of which are set out in the Top Ten Energy projects which are being covered by a separate report.

4.0 Future Work

4.1 Energy management is an area of work that is rapidly changing and the introduction of Automated Meter Reading by West Mercia Utilities later this year will enable even better monitoring and measuring of energy use. The introduction of a number of capital projects that form the Top Ten priorities for energy improvements on buildings will be set out in a separate report (PT05071Z).

4.2 These projects, some of which have already been recently implemented, should reap considerable and tangible benefits in terms of reduced energy consumption. The accommodation review is a major project which result in decanting staff from

REF: PT05071Y 8

North warehouse into HKP this will result in much more efficient space utilisation. A number of energy efficiency improvements are being made to the heating and cooling systems as part of the minor works to the warehouses which are needed for this office move which will result in energy savings. The projects represent the necessary upfront investment to manage down energy consumption. Targeting of capital investment on high energy using sites such as GL1 is seen as the best approach and working in partnership with Aspire we have begun to make progress in developing a number of significant invest to save projects (see the energy projects report for full details) but continued monitoring and reporting on all sites and manager and staff energy awareness and engagement are also important in bringing energy use down.

5.0 Conclusions

5.1 Gloucester City Council signed up to an Energy Management Strategy in 2003, part of which committed the Council to report annually to Cabinet on the energy used in its buildings. The report shows the data for the most recent complete year up to 1st April 2011. There are a number of factors affecting the energy used such as the levels of use of buildings and external factors such as the weather. There has been a clear reduction in Gas use breaking the upward trend started in 2007 and there has also been a slowing down of the electricity increase we saw in 2010.

5.2 As more energy efficiency measures from the top 10 projects are installed and the accommodation review takes effect we will build on this downward trend and drive down energy use further. The relative stability of electricity consumption with a very slight increase of 2% is clearly the greatest challenge which will be targeted by increased investment in energy reducing technologies. The long term reduction in carbon dioxide emissions is the most encouraging and arguably most important factor that can be taken from this data.

6.0 Financial Implications

6.1 There are financial implications arising from this report in terms of preparing for future energy cost increases due to kWh usage increases and energy price increases.

7.0 Legal Implications

7.1 There are no legal implications from this report.

8.0 Risk Management Implications (Authors to complete) Identify all key risks (scoring 8 and above) for the recommendation including the impact and likelihood of the risk occurring and what measures will be taken to mitigate the risk.

8.1 There were no significant risks identified in the assessment. Perhaps the biggest risk is one of inaction / inadequate response to this.

REF: PT05071Y 9

9.0 People Impact Assessment (PIA): Please ensure you complete this section even if a PIA is not required.

Yes NoIs a PIA required?

Explanation: There are no impacts to individuals as a result of the report.

Yes NoHas an initial PIA screening been completed? /

Explanation: The screening showed there were no impacts.

Yes NoHas a full PIA been completed?

Explanation: No need. See above.

Yes NoIs the PIA available?

Explanation: None available. See above.

Yes* NoHas the PIA identified any negative impacts on any protected characteristic or community cohesion?

*Please ensure PIA is available

Any Further Relevant Information:

10.0 Other Corporate Implications (this may include Community Safety, Environmental, Staffing, Trade Union)

1. Community Safety - There are no community safety implications to this report.

2. Environmental – Increase in carbon dioxide emissions which contribute to climate change.

3. Staffing – There are no direct staffing implications from this report.

4. Trade Union – There are no immediate trade union implications from this report. However, increased energy costs could impact on staffing budgets if action is not taken to reduce or conserve energy which could affect jobs in the long term.

Background Papers :

Published Papers :

Person to Contact : Stephen McDonnellTel: 396209E-mail: Stephen.McDonnell@gloucester.gov.uk