Hospital tackle million pound energy bill

Monday 06 March 2017

If you've been worried about how much it's cost to heat and light your home this winter, then spare a thought for the General Hospital.

New figures released under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Law show that in 2014 they spent more than a million pounds on electricity, gas and heating oil - by last year they had been able to get that down to £876,003.

That's a fall of more than 20% between 2014 and 2016, saving the States over £220k.

Last year, £194,551 was spent on heating oil, supplemented by £3,964 in gas bills. The largest energy expenditure by far was electricity, at £675,472 – down from £780,883 in 2014.

In recent years, the Hospital has committed to the States’ Eco-Active programme – a structured environmental action plan aimed at cutting down the Government’s carbon footprint – and focused on, “…switching items off and turning down heating when not required,” a spokesperson for the Health department explained.

Pictured: Hospital expenditure on utility bills for 2014, 2015 and 2016. (Source: States of Jersey)

“If equipment has to be on, it will be as low energy as possible, e.g. LED emergency lighting has been installed to replace the older and less efficient fluorescent lighting.”

Such efforts to reduce usage have helped to bring down the States electricity bills – the unit costs of which have remained largely the same across the last three years.

But while the Health Department say that reduction is the “hearts and minds” of employees, plummeting heating costs stem largely from a nosedive in unit rates.

The average rate for heating oil in 2014 was around 55p/litre, while 2016 saw it delivered at 36p/litre.

Heating bills may be set to drop even further with the construction of the new £466 million hospital, for which, “…energy efficiency and a low carbon impact will be important considerations.”

Pictured: A mock-up of the new hospital, which is expected to cost around £466 million.

The FOI figures also showed total electricity and gas prices for Les Quennevais, Le Rocquier and Haute Vallée secondary schools.

Since 2014, Les Quennevais has spent the most on electricity at £228,890 – a similar cost to Le Rocquier at £227,224 – but the least on gas at just £5,436.

Le Rocquier spent £102,010 on gas alone, while Haute Vallée spent similar quantities on both electricity and gas at £130,666 and £136,191 respectively.