Issue - meetings

Appendices 1 - 4 to the report are exempt from publication as they contain commercially confidential information (exempt under paragraph 3, Part 1, Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended)).

Further to Minute 30 (18 September 2018), the Cabinet Member for Finance, Growth and Core Services presented a report on the proposal to appoint LASER, a company owned by Kent County Council that procured energy on behalf of local authorities, to act as the Council’s specialist energy procurement broker. 

A range of procurement and supply options had been considered in light of the significant energy price rises and volatility in the market due to the conflict in Ukraine.  The Cabinet Member explained that LASER was currently negotiating a new, maximum four-year energy supply contract that would cover energy supplies from 1 October 2024, when the current contract expired.  However, purchasing under the new contract could commence from 1 October 2022, thereby enabling the Council to mitigate energy price rises and limit price fluctuations going forward.

Cabinet resolved to:

(i)  Approve the appointment of LASER as the Council’s energy broker to procure gas and electricity supplies and associated meter services such as Meter Operation and Data Collection Services on behalf of the Council, in accordance with the procurement strategy set out in the report;

(ii)  Authorise the Strategic Director, My Place, in consultation with the Strategic Director, Inclusive Growth, the Cabinet Member for Finance, Growth and Core Services and the Chief Legal Officer, to conduct the procurement and award and enter into the contract(s) and all other necessary or ancillary agreements, including finalising the preferred purchasing strategy (basket option) in accordance with the strategy set out in the report; and

(iii)  Delegate authority to the Strategic Director, My Place, in consultation with the Strategic Director, Inclusive Growth, the Cabinet Member for Finance, Growth and Core Services and the Chief Legal Officer, to progress arrangements in relation to Power Purchasing Agreements (PPAs) in the event that they become a viable option in the future, including conducting any procurement and awarding and entering into any contract(s) and other necessary or ancillary agreements.