The fate of a council-owned energy company that may face the chop before it is operational after costing tax payers £1 million is being decided on 10 August. Victory Energy was established last year by Portsmouth City Council, with a view to making £2 million a year for the authority. But following a change in the administration and to the “regulatory environment”, the company may be forced to close before it operates.
Utility Week 10th Aug 2018 read more »
Portsmouth City Council will scrap a company that has already seen over £1m of investment due to further risk to public money. Council leader Cllr Gerald Vernon-Jackson described it as a ‘great sadness’ as he recommended that Victory Energy should not go forward, with his cabinet voting unanimously in his favour. The company, which had yet to start operating, would have required a further multi-million pound loan to get going as well as around 44,000 households to sign up in the first year to break even. Council officers referred to their guidelines of the business needing proof of having strong governance, a talented senior management team, an agile business plan and a robust risk management framework to be successful. Cllr Vernon-Jackson was not convinced these were present in a report compiled by independent reviewers PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and feared more of taxpayers’ money could be lost in the future as a result. He said: ‘I’ve not been able to be persuaded that there are any of those four things in place. I think it’s really unfortunate for the city council, and for the people of the city.
Portsmouth News 11th Aug 2018 read more »
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