Delivery of an Energy Advice Service (EAS)

Concepts

• energy efficiency
• delivery of an energy advice service
• consultancy services
• british energy security strategy
• energy assessments
• dedicated energy advice offering
• good quality energy assessments
• delivery of energy assessments
• implementation of energy efficiency measures
• energy savings

Location

North East England:

Description

The British Energy Security Strategy (BESS), published in April 2022, committed to establishing a dedicated energy advice offering for smaller businesses to provide trusted advice on improving energy efficiency and decarbonisation. Following evaluation of similar schemes operating in Scotland and Northern Ireland, the Contracting Authority is considering offering subsidised energy assessments and small-scale grants to small and medium sized enterprises to encourage implementation of energy efficiency measures. The Contracting Authority is looking to perform a market engagement exercise to better understand the landscape of suppliers who could deliver this service, and to gather further evidence to inform the scheme's design. In particular, the Contracting Authority is keen to test the following: • Capacity of the market to supply good quality energy assessments and at what price range; • How energy assessments might be delivered in an efficient way, such as virtually and/or based on region; • Ways to ensure that the scheme is fair and representative to ensure it is a good basis for future policy development (e.g. through targeting and/or eligibility); • Likely demand from Small and Medium Enterprises and ways to drive demand; • ensure the additionality/added value of any government intervention; • The cost of delivering such a scheme; • The speed with which a pilot could be set up and start delivering; • Challenges to delivery e.g. capacity in the energy efficiency supply chain.

Total Quantity or Scope

If the Contracting Authority were to deliver the service through a third-party supplier, the delivery partner would be expected to: • Market the grant scheme to participants; • Check the eligibility of those applying for energy assessments and/or grants; • Facilitate or undertake the delivery of energy assessments and provide bespoke advice to participants on recommended energy efficiency improvement measures; • Signpost participants towards the grant scheme and/ or other sources of funding and support/handle stakeholder enquiries relating to the pilot. Where participants are in receipt of grant funding, the delivery partner would also ensure that there is sufficient evidence that the participant has implemented the measures in accordance with the grant agreement before payments are made. The delivery partner would be required to carry out monitoring and evaluation to measure the energy savings achieved. Where participants do not apply for, or do not receive, grant funding, the delivery partner would be required to determine what, if any, energy efficiency measures have been implemented without funding and/or why recommended measures from the energy assessment have not been implemented. As the central objective of the scheme would be to gain insight into future policy design, the delivery partner would be required to collect and possibly analyse data on participation and impact and take part in an evaluation exercise to determine lessons learned. The geographical scope of the scheme is subject to confirmation. Options include: England only; England and Wales; England, Wales, and Northern Ireland; or, a regional pilot. The contract value is indicative at this stage and subject to review. The contract value would cover the supply of energy assessments, running costs and (the majority) capital for grants with the exact split to be determined. The timetable remains to be confirmed, but the Contracting Authority would likely look for the first energy assessments to be delivered in Autumn/Winter 2023, with grants to follow in early 2024. Interested organisations are encouraged to attend the stakeholder event detailed in the "Other Information" section. Additional information: A stakeholder engagement event for organisations interested in this procurement will provisionally take place from 1:30-4:00pm on Wednesday 1 March. The event will be held online via Microsoft Teams, exact details will be shared with participants in due course. Please register your interest by emailing EE-engagement@beis.gov.uk with the subject line [Industry Engagement - Energy Efficiency].

CPV Codes

• 71314300 - Energy-efficiency consultancy services

Other Information

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