Short tender for public lighting

A contract for public lighting in Baw Baw Shire has been let to AGL, but only for six months.

Council accepted the tender evaluation recommendation from Procurement Australia to accept the AGL tender to provide public lighting from January 1 to June 30.

Council requested officers to bring a further report to council before May to consider future contract options for electricity supply beyond June 30.

Officers also will write to the Municipal Association of Victoria requesting Baw Baw Shire be included in the current electricity procurement tenders.

Council spends $244,000 each year on the provision of public lighting..

The current contract provided through the MAV is due to expire on December 31. The MAV proposes to re-tender for these services however within the current market it is likely that council will be subject to significant price rises should it sign on to the new MAV tender and subsequent contract.

A report to council said a market analysis was completed by council officers comparing both the proposed tender by MAV and the current Procurement Australia contract.

The current Procurement Australia offers lower tariffs than what is likely to be proposed by the new MAV contract. The current Procurement Australia offer is similar to the existing MAV electricity contract in terms of unit charge rates for electricity.

“All of councils current electricity contracts are under Procurement Australia contracts, therefore signing up to the Procurement Australia contract would align all our contracts under the one organisation, ensuring consistency across the contracts.

“The new AGL contract through PA will save money in terms of future savings from taking this option. This will demonstrate to the community a commitment to savings and efficiencies in the operations of council,” the report said.

Cr Mikaela Power said this would enable council to get the best rates for lighting services. “We are in a position that our current contract expires at the end of this year. But this motion enables us to look at our options,” she said.

Cr Michael Leaney said this provided council with a flexible and pragmatic approach.

Cr Tricia Jones said by contacting the MAV, council will have the option in the future to see what is available and choose what is best for Baw Baw.