Cabinet agrees to new sustainable energy contract

West Northamptonshire Council’s (WNC) Cabinet has agreed to a new energy buying contract which is both good for the budget and the environment.

For the past two years, the Council has been buying energy through the LASER framework which creates savings for public sector bodies through flexible bulk purchase. This followed on from contracts through the same framework at all of WNC’s predecessor councils – Daventry, Northampton, Northamptonshire County and South Northamptonshire.

The new contract will run from October 2024 to September 2028, providing savings of around £1.8million per year on energy bills, and the energy bought is from sustainable sources such as solar power.

The contract we’ve had in place since WNC launched in 2021 allowed us to weather the worst of the energy crisis without huge increases in our energy bills, which has been of real benefit to taxpayers.

Buying energy in this way allows us to work with other public sector organisations to get the best possible prices, and the energy we’re buying is 100 per cent renewable which fits in with our 2030 net zero target.

Agreeing this new contract will provide a degree of security for us until 2028, which will help us reduce the impact on services.Cllr Malcolm Longley, Cabinet Member for Finance