Manchester City Council leads the chart in energy expenses, having purchased electricity at a rate of 62p/p/kwh.
That’s according to the Box Power CIC Performance Table, which shows notable variations in rates across Greater Manchester, with Manchester City Council’s energy costs exceeding £34.8 million – significantly higher than the UK council average.
Birmingham City Council, facing financial challenges, observes a substantial increase in energy costs from £14 million in 2021/22 to £32 million in 2022/23, despite purchasing electricity at a relatively lower rate of 32p/p/kwh.
According to the report, London Borough of Islington allocated £16.2 million for 106,576,000 kwh of gas, outspending London Borough of Hackney, which spent £6.3 million for 104,282,851kwh.
Merseyside Fire paid 160% more for electricity compared to London Fire and West Yorkshire Police paid 90% more than the London Met Police for electricity.
Authorities in Scotland generally obtained more economical rates than their English counterparts, analysts noted.
Corin Dalby, Chief Executive Officer of Box Power CIC, said: “It seems crazy to me that taxpayers are unable to easily see what their local authority is paying for energy.
“As each council’s energy costs have been undisclosed until we released the Box Power CIC Performance Table, that means purchasing teams must also have been oblivious to each other’s performance and so in our view, no council was able to honestly demonstrate that they are achieving value for money without this level of transparency.”
