Working With Wiltshire Council

Transitioning Wiltshire Council to run on 100% renewably sourced energy.

Managing a large, multi-site energy portfolio is complex and requires dedicated time and resource to ensure it runs smoothly. In addition, having full visibility of your energy costs and access to detailed budget information is crucial – especially for local authorities where budgets need to be allocated and monitored across a wide number of service areas.

Who are West Mercia Energy?

Specialising solely in managing energy contracts for the public sector, WME is jointly owned by four local authorities: Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin, Worcestershire, and Herefordshire councils, respectively. WME are committed to supporting public sector customers to achieve their specific net zero ambitions and work collectively to achieve the Government’s net zero pledge

Overview

Following several strong recommendations from similar organisations, Wiltshire Council moved their gas and electricity supplies to West Mercia Energy (WME) in 2014, opting for our Fully Managed Service provision. Through this provision they receive a suite of additional services above and beyond our risk managed energy procurement, to ensure the contract runs efficiently. Detailed budget forecasting and contract management are provided throughout, to help the council monitor and allocate budgets across service areas and keep a view of contract performance.

Our Work

The Wiltshire Council portfolio consists of 788 meters, representing 70 GWh of energy, covering corporate sites, streetlighting and schools.

Fully managed energy provision
Bill validation savings
Budget monitoring
Supporting net zero ambitions

A service tailored to your needs

Wiltshire Council had previously worked with another provider, utilising a procurement only model. As a result, they did not benefit from additional value-added services.

They wanted a full solution that better suited their needs, reducing in-house administration time and providing dedicated customer service and query management.

WME’s reputation within the Mid-West Energy Group, which the Council were members of, allowed them to hear directly from existing customers about the level of service they were receiving and the different service options available

We find WME open and transparent in everything they do - they’re easy to deal with, providing a friendly, professional, and high-quality service. The transition from our previous supplier to WME was simple and easy. We experienced no problems – they took control, dealing with our previous framework provider and suppliers to ensure the transfer was complete without an issue. Their procurement strategy has consistently delivered competitive pricing, and their management and responsiveness to queries is excellent. We’ve never experienced any hassle or issues with the service or support.

Fully managed energy provision

WME offer energy procurement strategies to suit all risk appetites and provide both a Fully Managed and Procurement Only service level. This ensures we can cater for the priorities of different public sector organisations. Regardless of your organisations’ needs, all customers receive high levels of support, guidance, and customer service from WME’s team of experts.

Wiltshire Council chose our Fully Managed offering due to the breadth of additional services that catered to their specific needs. The Council, and their contracted schools, have access to our customer service team who are on hand to answer any questions and talk customers through their bills and any associated queries.

Like many local authorities with a small team, Wiltshire Council had limited time to focus on their energy contract. But as a large council, with over 700 meters, the contract demands time. With our Fully Managed Service, they receive the level of assistance they need, with the day-to-day administration of a large multi-site energy portfolio taken off their hands by WME. This enables them to focus on other key areas of energy, such as supporting the Council on their journey to net zero. WME’s contract management and reporting mechanisms ensure the Council always maintains a thorough oversight of the contract performance. In addition, the Council have peace of mind that WME’s experienced trading team are delivering a risk-managed procurement strategy to manage the costs of their energy.

One of the key drivers of moving to WME compared with other providers is our unique bill validation service. We receive and validate every supplier invoice, so our clients don’t have to. Where the invoice passes validation, we pay, and onward charge to the Council. In the event an invoice does not pass our validation, we send these back to the supplier and manage them to a resolution on behalf of the Council. With their previous provider, Wiltshire Council had to contact their energy suppliers directly whenever there was an issue. As they were using 3 suppliers at the time, this was both frustrating and time absorbing.

For Wiltshire Council the bill validation service has been invaluable, with all savings openly reported and 100% of the savings returned to the Council.

Full control with myWME

As the Council’s previous supplier did not provide a bill validation service, there was a risk of incorrect invoices being paid. The lack of an online portal was another deciding factor; at the time of using the service, their previous provider did not have an online portal to allow for ease of access to their data.

With WME’s Fully Managed Service, both the Council and contracted schools have access to myWME, our dedicated energy monitoring platform which provides instant access to all their energy data. From energy consumption and costs, customers can also view their current portfolio, carbon footprint and view all current and historic invoices.

Green Energy for a Carbon Neutral Future

Like many local authorities, Wiltshire Council have declared a “Climate Emergency” and are working to become net zero. For many businesses, being mindful of their carbon footprint is high on the agenda.

Use of the portal helps the Council, and their contracted schools, to monitor their energy consumption, making anomalies in consumption clear, and challenges them to make efficiencies where possible. At the time Wiltshire Council first joined WME, there was less emphasis on the green agenda. This was however, a high priority when the Council most recently tendered their energy contract and re-awarded it to WME.

WME’s ‘Use Cleaner, Use Less’ campaign supports the Councils ambition to be more energy efficient, and ensures that where energy is consumed, it’s of the lowest carbon footprint possible. The Council now procure 100% renewable energy through WME, with energy being sourced from UK based solar, wind and hydro generation.