Minute 318 (Cabinet Book 1, Agenda Item No. 15 refers)

Called in by Councillors Borton, Terry, Ware-Lane and Woodley.

The Committee considered Minute 318 of the meeting of Cabinet held on 19th September 2017, which had been called-in to Scrutiny, together with the report of the Deputy Chief Executive (Place) which sought approval to launch a set of energy generation, storage and management services under the Southend Energy brand underpinned by minimum standards and an associated marketing campaign.

Resolved:

That the following decisions of Cabinet be noted:

“1. That a set of minimum standards for energy generation and storage devices and associated management services to be managed through the proposed governance process, be established.

2. That the devices and services be marketed to help households to save money and reduce their net energy consumption.

3. That the scheme be supported by an appropriate governance process, as set out in paragraph 5 of the submitted report, that will approve suppliers and processes for the scheme and the marketing for both the scheme, as a whole, and individual suppliers.

4. That it be noted that the scheme will be funded over time by referral fees and marketing contributions from suppliers with an initial investment of £50k from the Business Transformation Fund (already approved) to launch the scheme and to fund one staffing post until revenues cover on-going costs.  Over time, any net revenues will be used to fund the energy team.”

Note: This is an Executive function

Executive Councillor: Holland

Report of the Deputy Chief Executive (Place) attached

The Cabinet considered a report of the Deputy Chief Executive (Place) which sought approval to launch a set of energy generation, storage and management services under the Southend Energy brand underpinned by minimum standards and an associated marketing campaign.

Resolved:

1. That a set of minimum standards for energy generation and storage devices and associated management services to be managed through the proposed governance process, be established.

2. That the devices and services be marketed to help households to save money and reduce their net energy consumption.

3. That the scheme be supported by an appropriate governance process, as set out in paragraph 5 of the submitted report, that will approve suppliers and processes for the scheme and the marketing for both the scheme, as a whole, and individual suppliers.

4. That it be noted that the scheme will be funded over time by referral fees and marketing contributions from suppliers with an initial investment of £50k from the Business Transformation Fund (already approved) to launch the scheme and to fund one staffing post until revenues cover on-going costs.  Over time, any net revenues will be used to fund the energy team.

Reasons for Decision

The savings to households together with other benefits of the proposals are detailed in the report.

Other Options

Doing nothing will remove the opportunity for Southend residents to make significant savings on their energy costs in the face of rising energy prices and remove the opportunity for improved local grid resilience. Households wishing to engage with the market would be exposed to a confusing marketplace without support.

Note: This is an Executive function

Eligible for call in to: Place Scrutiny Committee

Executive Councillor: Holland

The Cabinet considered a report of the Deputy Chief Executive (Place) which sought approval to launch a set of energy generation, storage and management services under the Southend Energy brand underpinned by minimum standards and an associated marketing campaign.

Resolved:

1. That a set of minimum standards for energy generation and storage devices and associated management services to be managed through the proposed governance process, be established.

2. That the devices and services be marketed to help households to save money and reduce their net energy consumption.

3. That the scheme be supported by an appropriate governance process, as set out in paragraph 5 of the submitted report, that will approve suppliers and processes for the scheme and the marketing for both the scheme, as a whole, and individual suppliers.

4. That it be noted that the scheme will be funded over time by referral fees and marketing contributions from suppliers with an initial investment of £50k from the Business Transformation Fund (already approved) to launch the scheme and to fund one staffing post until revenues cover on-going costs.  Over time, any net revenues will be used to fund the energy team.

Reasons for Decision

The savings to households together with other benefits of the proposals are detailed in the report.

Other Options

Doing nothing will remove the opportunity for Southend residents to make significant savings on their energy costs in the face of rising energy prices and remove the opportunity for improved local grid resilience. Households wishing to engage with the market would be exposed to a confusing marketplace without support.

Note: This is an Executive function

Eligible for call in to: Place Scrutiny Committee

Executive Councillor: Holland

*Called in to:- Place Scrutiny Committee