Welcome to the London Energy Project

The London Energy Project (LEP) enables the public sector to achieve efficiencies through smarter energy buying, improved process and carbon reduction.

We do this by providing directed leadership, practical support, shared learning and collaborative working opportunities and play a proactive intermediary role between boroughs and their service providers to improve the efficiency and quality of contracted services, derive greater value and performance from contracts, and provide coherent representation and policy influence through our pan Government links.

The project was established in 2006.

Read about our latest event, 'Buying energy and managing the CRC' and download presentations from the day

Energy project savings

The London Energy Project enabled boroughs to save £16 million in 2009/10, through joint procurement, improved price risk management, efficient data management and payment processes. The project estimates that large sustainable savings and efficiency gains can still be made by boroughs, primarily through:

• Providing proportionate and directed leadership to accelerate improvement and efficiency gains on a pan-London basis
• Ensuring strategies for utilities procurement and price risk management are fit for purpose and meet continuously changing market conditions
• Using pan-London leverage effectively with key suppliers, to drive down cost and drive up performance
• Maintaining London-wide aggregation, to enable individual boroughs to access newer arrangements, such as power purchase agreements
• Specifying and supporting borough adoption of common standards that will drive down suppliers’ cost to serve and the ability to share services in the future
• Identifying new savings opportunities, such as demand-side management and coordinating a pan-London or cluster approaches to shared services and specialist hubs
• Improving boroughs' back-office data management and invoice payment processes to deliver cashable savings
• Supporting energy and carbon reduction and efficiency measures by providing user manuals, continuous professional development opportunities and best practice tools, which deliver cash releasing benefits, i.e. a route map to excellence and savings
• Providing a key focal point for representation with government departments and Ofgem, and acting as an impartial escalation route with suppliers

Our Executive Overview Opens in a new window  (PDF, 570 KB) explains LEP’s key successes to date and how efficient back office invoice payment and data management processes, joint procurement, shared services and best practice solutions for the Carbon Reduction Commitment could save an average borough spending £10.5m p.a. on energy up to £1.6m p.a. These benefits accrue through effective energy and carbon price risk management, transaction and administrative efficiency gains, payment process cost avoidance, more intelligent budgeting and corporate compliance.

Future challenges

The UK public sector as a whole spends approximately £3.8 billion per year on energy. Anyone buying or managing energy is faced by key challenges:

• Reduce energy use and carbon emissions;
• Minimise energy costs, forecast energy budgets and manage risks in a volatile energy market;
• Reduce energy administration costs and improve the accessibility and quality of management information;
• Comply with and manage the risks and costs associated with the Carbon Reduction Commitment.

We believe our common sector approach is a proven route to achieving excellence and value for money and that this could lead to London achieving efficiencies and savings worth £35.7m p.a. Opens in a new window (against CSR 07 targets) across a range of procurement and transaction activities. Now London's public sector can capitalise on opportunities to plough back efficiency gains into front-line services.

In 2010/13, LEP will continue its drive to enable boroughs to achieve:

• cashable financial savings by reducing energy costs, energy demand and supplier charges
• effective risk management leading to cost avoidance
• cashable and non-cashable savings through improved administration and payment processes
• effective CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme risk and cost management and carbon trading
• qualitative improvements in customer service.

Under our five priority workstreams, LEP is supporting boroughs by

• Driving forward buying performance and customer service standards offered by buying organisations and their suppliers
• Delivering cost effective CRC support to ensure boroughs are equipped to comply with regulations and manage carbon trading and other risks
• Developing a self assessment improvement plan and toolkit, which enables boroughs to benefit from lasting cost reduction and measurable efficiencies across a wide range of energy related activities
• Engaging with suppliers to reduce customer costs and identify additional value add services
• Identifying a strategic approach to reducing cost and carbon through demand reduction and energy efficiency measures.
• Enabling cost recovery through the wider adoption of in-house and/or outsourced energy bureau style services and electronic/consolidated billing standards.

You can read more about our work on the About us page.

Project id: CA14
Theme: Delivering Together
Status: Active
Project lead: Richard Le Donne
Contact: lce.energy@haringey.gov.uk, 020 8489 1925