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Whitehall departments have been urged to review their energy use and procurement, after it emerged the complex web of current suppliers had left some departments facing annual bills of more than £1m. Several key Whitehall departments recently responded to Freedom of Information (FoI) requests, outlining how much they spent on electricity and gas. It followed concerns that, despite a Whitehall-wide commitment to reducing carbon emissions and slashing procurement costs, some departments are not getting the best deals possible from their energy suppliers. Many departments are also struggling to meet Cabinet Office targets to reduce their C02 emissions. The Home Office, it emerged, spent at least £1m on electricity for its core account – with supplier EDF – at its Marsham Street headquarters in central London during 2009/10. A smaller bill of £40,000 was paid to a second supplier, Corona Energy. Other large energy consumers included the Foreign Office – with a bill of £827,000 in 2009/10, the Department for Transport (£630,000) and the Department for Children, Schools and Families (£568,000). Mark Todd, director of the price comparison site energyhelpline.co.uk which submitted the FoI requests, said: ‘These figures will be fuel to the fire of those taxpayers who are angry about the levels of public spending and possible waste in government departments. ‘Following the general election, the new administration is going to have to make cuts and it could do a lot worse than investigating the amount departments pay for their energy, reviewing what energy tariffs they are on, and examining ways of using energy more efficiently.' Departments which published information on their energy use, contracted a wide-range of suppliers for gas and electricity, raising concerns that Whitehall is not using its significant, collective purchasing power adequately. But even where discounted bulk purchasing is not considered, Whitehall's procurement and finance officers are also failing to achieve the cheapest prices for energy supplies. Ironically, the Department for Energy and Climate Change was criticised for buying its power from two suppliers not used by other Whitehall departments – Scottish Hydro Electric and Total Gas & Power. Most departments which published figures used combinations of EDF, E.ON and Corona. Mr Todd added: ‘It would... be interesting to know why government departments are using different suppliers. Surely, they need to identify the cheapest deals and sign up to them? ‘The Department of Energy and Climate Change should be leading the way – so why are its suppliers different from every other department in the survey?' Alongside its response to the FoI requests, the Home Office released a statement which read: ‘The department is working with the Carbon Trust to identify appropriate measures, including investment measures, to reduce consumption at those buildings which are high energy users – and to better monitor progress in financial and environmental terms.'

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WHITEHALL

Departments 'fail to get best deal' for energy use

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