Purpose

To seek approval to renew the Council’s
natural gas supply contract for up to four years, on a flexible
procurement basis.

Content

That Cabinet:

1.     
Authorised the Executive Director Growth & Regeneration, in
consultation with the Cabinet Member for Climate, Ecology, Waste
and Energy, to renew the BCC gas supply contract for up to four
years, on a flexible procurement basis, noting the values and
amounts as outlined in this report and that any budgetary pressures
once prices are confirmed will be raised and require management
during the medium term financial plan setting.

2.     
Noted the expected reduction in demand for natural gas over the new
contract lifetime due to connections to Bristol’s district
heating Networks, replacement of gas boilers with heat pumps,
improved energy efficiency measures (as set out in the BCC
Corporate Estate Decarbonisation Programme), and estate
rationalisation, may require additional investment or budget for
which further approval will be sought as required.

3.     
Authorised the Executive Director Growth & Regeneration, in
consultation with the Cabinet Member for Climate, Ecology, Waste
and Energy, to take all steps required to secure the provision of a
100% ‘Green Gas’ supply for all BCC sites within the
scope of the 2025 Carbon Neutrality target (including procuring and
awarding contracts over the key decision threshold), subject to
affordability and availability at an estimated cost of £546K
(included in the overall total contract value). This would include
both biomethane and hydrogen produced from electrolysis of water
using renewable energy sources (Green Hydrogen).