Request for information - West Sussex Domestic solar PV and storage Scheme

West Sussex County Council (WSCC) is seeking to identify an experienced installation partner capable of delivering a council supported solar PV and battery storage scheme for residents and small businesses in Sussex.

The delivery partner will be responsible for procuring and managing a network of pre-vetted installers with the experience and capacity to deliver a large volume of installations on time and to a high standard.

They will deliver and manage all aspects of the customer journey from targeted marketing and lead generation to customer service, installation, and aftercare; reporting to WSCC as required.

By realising economies of scale made possible by the volume of customer referrals, the delivery partner will be expected to achieve the installations at a price that is demonstrably lower than current industry average install costs.

WSCC will derive a commission from the delivery partner for each installation completed as a means of covering costs and ensuring that the scheme is cost neutral to local Council Taxpayers.

Additional information: Questions

1. Do you have experience of delivering a large, area-wide solar PV and battery storage delivery programme for domestic customers and SMEs? (A large delivery programme for the purposes of this exercise is considered circa 1,000 installations in a 6-month period). 2. Have you worked on behalf of local authorities to deliver such a scheme? If yes, please provide details. 3. By generating significant demand within an area and delivering economies of scale, can you offer solar PV and battery installations ensuring that install costs are consistently below current DESNZ average install costs? 4. Can you deliver a targeted marketing campaign to residents that is cost-neutral to the supporting local authorities (i.e. the marketing and administration costs are covered by income received from installations)? 5. Do you deliver all aspects of the customer journey involved, including customer service related to the registration, survey, installation and aftercare stages of the programme? 6. In providing a comprehensive customer service at each stage, do you employ dedicated customer service staff and have customer communication channels available, including website and online / telephone helpdesk? 7. Do the installers within your supply chain hold up-to-date and relevant renewable energy industry accreditations (i.e. MCS, RECC and HIES)? 8. Do the installers within your supply chain have to meet standards regarding their financial health? 9. Are you open to using local, Sussex-based installers as part of your supply chain? 10. Are you open to delivering wider social value objectives (i.e. working with your supply chain to offer training and employment opportunities)? 11. In delivering an installation programme, please provide details of the quality standards that apply to the service you deliver (i.e. customer service, equipment, delivery, quality assurance, aftercare, reporting and complaint handling etc.) and how you monitor performance against these standards. 12. Are you able to deliver other energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies to domestic customers and SME's (i.e. insulation, heat pumps, low energy lighting etc.)? 13. Can you offer a competitive finance package for customers? If so, please provide details. 14. Can you provide delivery partners (i.e. local authorities) with regular (weekly and monthly) reporting detailing performance against the agreed delivery standards? 15. Do you have up-to-date insurance policies covering liability, works and indemnity? 16. Do you offer insurance backed guarantees covering workmanship post installation for up to 10 years? 17. Are you able to provide copies of your annual audited accounts for 3 years and up-to-date customer satisfaction information? 18. Are you on any procurement frameworks? If so, which ones?

Please send your responses to [email protected] by 5pm on 26/1/2024.