Decision details

To appoint Switch 2 energy to provide services under 2 contracts to support the management of the communal heating system at the Council’s new build scheme at Albion Street, Southwick: 

1.    To provide metering and billing services for the 49 flats at a cost of £20,492.  The contract is to run for 5 years from October 2023.

2.    To provide maintenance services for the communal heating installation at a cost of £54,904.  The contract will not start until 12 months after building completion (October 2024) and will run for 4 years.

Adur’s new development at Albion Street, Southwick will provide 49 flats for social housing and is due to complete on 23rd October 2023. The block has a communal heating and hot water system and Adur District Council (ADC) will need to take on the new role of heat provider to tenants.

The Council is legally obliged to provide a metering and billing service under the Heat Network metering and billing regulations. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/heat-networks. The inhouse capacity to manage this service is not available and this needs to be provided by a specialist company.

At present ADC does not have contractors available with the capacity to maintain the complex communal heating installation which includes communal boilers and pipework to individual heat exchangers in tenants’ flats, so a specialist service is required.

Switch 2 will be procured by direct call off under the Procure Public framework which is a compliant framework which the Council has access to,  and the contract terms have been approved by the Council’s legal and procurement teams.

In-house delivery of the services was considered however the necessary capacity within the council is not available.

Alternative providers were considered however Switch 2 is a market leader and value for money has been demonstrated through the procurement framework.