Take action over city's school energy bill say councillors
30 June 2008
Green councillors are urging Brighton and Hove City Council to take urgent action over soaring energy costs in the city's schools as they face a possible 80% increase in bills in the new financial year.
"The city’s schools have been asked to budget for an 80 per cent increase in their energy costs for 2008/2009,’ said Cllr Bill Randall (pictured below) Green councillor for Hanover and Elm Grove.
"At Elm Grove Primary School, for example, where I am a governor, the 2007/2008 electricity bill was £4,500 and the gas bill was £5,000.
"An 80 per cent increase on this will mean an extra £7,600 out of a budget that is already at the margins despite the careful stewardship of head teacher John Lynch and school bursar Val Gates.
"With 67 primary and secondary schools in the city the overall increase for Brighton and Hove could be as high as £500,000 a year. Cuts will have to be made in the general education fund to foot this bill.
"There is every chance even more steepling increases could follow in 2009/10 and subsequent years along with increases in water charges.
"The education of the city’s sons and daughters could be affected."
Green councillors are urging the city council to:
1. Commission its sustainability team to give energy saving advice to the city’s schools as a matter of urgency, particularly the older schools that leak energy and CO2 like a sieve.
2. Launch a feasibility study to determine the potential for the installation of wind turbines, solar power, solar heating, ground-source heating systems and other renewable energy sources in the city’s schools and to identify the grant funding available to support this work.
3. Help all schools draw up a Green Plan that identifies the action needed to cut energy costs, recycle waste, conserve water and encourage sustainable travel to and from school.
‘Saving energy can help schools reduce their environmental impact,’ said Cllr Randall, ‘and reduce utility costs, which allows more money to be directed to other school activities.
Furthermore, energy saving programmes can be used as a powerful education tool for pupils, improving learning and engendering a sense of citizenship and stewardship of finite resources.
We welcome the creation of a schools carbon manager post and hope it will be filled as soon as possible.
But on its own, it is not enough.’
Notes to editors:
Media: for more information please contact Lizzie Deane Green Party External Communications Coordinator on 07931 231390.(1) The annual cost of energy used in all UK schools is around £350M and rising, despite reduction targets set at the local authority level.
(2) Schools emit more than 5 million tonnes of CO2 a year, which is around 15 per cent of total public sector emissions in the UK
(3) The Energy Saving Trust estimates that savings of 5 per cent across the sector can be achieved at no cost, saving more than £20 million and 300,000 tonnes of CO2 a year
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