Councils in Shropshire, Herefordshire, Telford & Wrekin and Worcestershire, meanwhile, have a separate, combined contract worth up to £100 million, commencing in April next year and not expiring until 2030.
TotalEnergies Gas & Power is one of only a handful of energy firms able to offer such large-scale public sector gas deals. But energy industry experts said U.K. officials would have alternative options.
Monitoring developments
A government spokesperson said:“We are making the U.K. a clean energy superpower to get off the roller coaster of fossil fuel markets controlled by dictators like Putin, replacing that with clean homegrown power we control — and have ended all imports of Russian fossil fuels in response to Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.”
A spokesperson for LASER, the procurement firm, said the company “fully recognizes the importance of ethical procurement and the concerns raised around energy supply chains.” All of its contracts “comply with the U.K. government’s sanctions regime and guidance on public procurement,” they added. “We will continue to monitor developments and act accordingly in line with government policy and sector best practice.”
A Bank of England spokesperson said the Bank’s “procurement processes abide by all relevant [government] financial sanctions legislation.”
A Southampton City Council spokesperson said it had been advised by LASER “that all of our energy contracts, including gas, comply with the U.K. government’s sanctions regime and guidance on public procurement.” They added: “We will continue to monitor developments with our procurement partner, Laser Energy, and act accordingly in line with government policy and sector best practice.”
Other councils either declined or did not respond to a request for comment.
