Chamber and committees

The national electricity framework covers circa 300 organisations across Scotland, covering all sectors – Local Government, Central Government, NHS, Universities and colleges. Any energy supplier needs to have the capacity to supply and service all organisations by providing the ability to pre-purchase electricity and also provide a billing service.

The mix of energy used is the suppliers decision, the energy mix cannot be decided by Scottish Procurement.

The community energy element was not raised as a requirement in the scoping of the procurement strategy which is developed by the framework users, who are representatives from across the public sector.

The strategy for the provision of electricity under the national framework agreement was developed and agreed in partnership with the User Intelligence Group (UIG). The UIG consists of representatives from across the public sector and they define the core purpose of the procurement and set out the key deliverables. In this case the core requirement was that the provider should be capable of delivering electricity supply and service to over 300 customers. Continuity of supply is a critical element and taking into account the requirement and the risks associated with supply, the UIG agreed that the framework should be tendered as a single supplier agreement. The energy supplier must have the capacity to supply and service all organisations by providing the ability to prepurchase electricity and also provide a billing service.

If a framework customer wishes to source certified renewable supplies, then they could do this. However any agreement between a customer and an additional supplier would be out-with the framework and its terms.

The Scottish Government is committed to working with partners to continue to grow the community and local energy sector and ensure the delivery of renewable energy comes with benefits for people in Scotland.

On 17 October the Scottish Government signed a Joint Vision Statement with the UK Government which set out a commitment to work together to explore opportunities for GB Energy to support community & local energy in Scotland. This includes considering the role of the Scottish Government’s Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES).

In line with this Vision Statement, the Scottish Government continues to work with the UK Government to explore opportunities, including for community energy and community developments via local authorities, offered by the Local Power Plan.

We have noted the latest Energy Transition survey report published by Aberdeen and Grampian Chambers of Commerce. Offshore oil and gas licensing and consenting, as well as the associated fiscal regime, are currently reserved to the UK Government. We continue to call on UK Government to listen carefully to the concerns being expressed by businesses around risks to jobs and investment in the transition.

The Risk Management committee includes a mix of procurement, financial and energy personnel from the following organisations – Scottish Government, Scottish Prison Service, Police Scotland, University of Edinburgh, Advanced Procurement for Universities and Colleges, Glasgow Clyde College, Inverclyde Council, Aberdeenshire Council, Argyll and Bute Council, NHS National Services Scotland, NHS Ayrshire and Arran, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

The generation mix of electricity for the Framework is not dictated by the Risk Management Committee, this would be something which is decided by the supplier with regards to their own generation mix, therefore no information or conclusions can be published about other supply mixes.

Ultimately, the generation mix for the electricity framework is sourced from the National Grid.

Any community energy used/used in future would be out-with the framework.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-31111 on 18 November 2024. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

(a)The National Electricity Supply Framework is not mandatory, so organisations can source another supply out-with the framework agreement. If they do leave the framework they need to comply with the terms and conditions which set out the notice period required to leave the electricity framework.

(b)With regards to public expenditure benefits, because the other source of electricity would be purchased by a local authority and be out-with the framework any benefit would be assessed and recorded by the local authority.

The Scottish Government has long recognised the need for our communities to benefit from our just energy transition to net zero. This is why we continue to engage with the UK Government to encourage them to explore mandating community benefits for all onshore energy developments, along with plans for transmission infrastructure.

Despite the powers to mandate community benefits being reserved to the UK Government, Scotland has made significant progress with a voluntary approach to community benefits. Supported by our Good Practice Principles, our Community Benefits Register shows that in the past year, over £26m of community benefits have been offered to Scottish communities.

Local authorities are able to build and generate their own electricity supply. Any local authority considering the option to build and generate their own electricity supply should advise Scottish Procurement and the Supplier once they have committed to the decision to build and generate electricity supplies, as they will be reducing the volumes that they require from the national framework.

If a local authority wanted to sell or sleeve their independent electricity supply to the wider marketplace, this would be their commercial decision, and any agreement would be out-with the national electricity framework.

The Scottish Government has noted the launch by the British Chambers of Commerce of a new North Sea Transition Taskforce. Based on the information made available so far, we understand that the Taskforce will hold its first meetings before the end of the year and then intends to publish recommendations for both the UK and Scottish Governments next Spring.