RE:FIT case study: Powys Teaching Health Board

The RE:FIT framework gives public authorities the opportunity to procure a long term private sector partner to help them deliver green solutions across their estates. The contractor which is appointed following a tender process guarantees a certain level of performance in relation to energy performance and cost savings. Since 2016, the framework has helped authorities reduce their level of GHG emissions by over 515ktCO2e, and save over £30m per annum in terms of the cost of energy.

One of the authorities which has benefited from using Re:fit recently is Powys Teaching Health Board. Powys is a sparsely populated large county in the centre of Wales, covering 25% of the land mass with only 5% of the population living there. They have 9 community hospitals and 11 clinical sites.

The challenge:

In 2019 the Welsh Government declared a climate emergency and subsequently declared an ambition for the public sector to be net zero by 2030. The NHS Wales Decarbonisation Strategic Delivery Plan 2021-2030 set out how the NHS would contribute to this target. Powys had a large number of buildings which were aging and in need of refurbishment, with over half of them pre-dating the 1940s, and some of them being over 100 years old. Some buildings had listed status and involved other challenges such as access issues, environmental protections, etc. The Health Board did not have the necessary funds to bring their estate in line with NHS ambitions for meeting net zero targets and refurbishing their estate.

The solution:

In 2021 the Welsh Government Energy Service recommended that Powys speak to Local Partnerships about the Re:fit framework, and look to access funding from the Salix Finance “Invest to Save” programme. The Health Board then secured the support of all of the relevant stakeholders to initiate the project. In 2022 the Health Board produced an Invitation to Tender with the support of Local Partnerships, which stated that it wanted to procure a partner to help it optimise the energy efficiency and performance of its assets through measured and verified energy efficiency improvements and/or energy generation. Following a robust procurement process Vital Energi were appointed.

The contractor and Powys produced a High Level Appraisal (HLA), which is a form of outline business case setting out what they hoped to achieve. Once a Local Partnerships technical reviewer had approved this, they developed an Investment Grade Proposal (IGP), which is a full business case in which Vital guaranteed certain levels of performance and savings. Again Local Partnerships reviewed this before the parties proceeded to contract. Funding of £4.3 million (including VAT and fees) was secured from Salix Finance, and works began in late 2024 on installing solar panels, LED lighting, improving insulation, pipework, etc. Local contractors were used as far as possible following the importance of this and social value being stressed in the tender documents.

The impact:

The partnership between Powys and Vital Energi is now delivering financial and carbon emissions savings for the Welsh public sector, with community hospitals and clinical centres benefiting from more efficient use of energy, better lighting and improved infrastructure.

Anthony Fenn, Head of Technical Services at the Health Board, said “the guarantees from Vital Energi in relation to double digit carbon and energy savings, and savings on our revenue bottom line, are great. The funding from the Welsh Government has been very helpful, and Local Partnerships held our hands along the way to ensure a joined up approach. There is a lot of networking with other Health Boards which ensures that knowledge and best practice is shared”.

Steven Bromley, the Environmental and Sustainability Manager at the Health Board, said “getting several energy saving measures undertaken under one project has saved time and delivered tangible results. Sealing up drafts and installing LEDs has also been great at engaging staff and we have had a number of positive comments from them.”

Huw Russell, a Director in the Climate team at Local Partnerships, said “it is fantastic to see improvements to the Powys estate being implemented, and hearing about the immediate improvements. The Re:fit framework which they used has actually now expired, but a new iteration of the framework is currently out for tender and will be available for use soon. Local Partnerships will be the exclusive facilitating organisation supporting public authorities in procuring partners. For further information, please contact me on huw.russell@localpartnerships.gov.uk”.

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