Council energy bill will surge despite big projected savings

West Lothian Council’s annual energy bill is expected to rise to more than £19 million by 2027 – £5m more than this year’s.

Surging bills are coming despite huge savings already made, a meeting of the council executive heard. The council is set to cut its power bill by more than £500,000 in the coming financial year.

As the Local Democracy Reporting Service first revealed in October 2022, the council agreed to tighter controls of electricity use in council buildings – including monitoring kettle and microwave use – after the initial surge in energy costs saw an increase in the council’s bill of more than £2.6m.

This was within weeks of the start of the cost-of-living crisis which saw all domestic energy bills surge.

A report to councillors detailed the reduction in the council’s annual electricity use by almost 13 million units in the last five years.

The report on energy costs highlighted that electricity usage fell by 26 per cent, from 48.8 million units in 2017/18 to 35.9m units in 2022/23. Gas and biomass use also reduced by 10 per cent during the same period.

This means the council is on track to make £575,000 of energy savings across the estate in 2024/25. Despite all these measures, the council’s energy costs are expected to rise from £14.3m in 2023/24 to £19.3m in 2027/28.

Peter Rogers, Energy & Climate Change Manager, told the meeting: “Energy market volatility and rising costs are likely to continue for at least the next two years, and there is a risk of increased volatility.”