LCE began 2022 like many other companies, navigating the various changes to COVID 19 restrictions. As we began to emerge from the various lockdowns, restrictions and new working practices LCE continued to undertake meetings online. Like many others we had witnessed some of the benefits the pandemic had made environmentally. With this in mind, LCE have encouraged staff to travel less for meetings which can be performed online, thus reducing our impact upon the environment. We also received a Special Commendation for Energy Consultant/Consultancy at the National Energy Efficiency Awards held in February 2022.
Unfortunately, with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine energy prices have increased worldwide and the Country is finding itself thrown into the worst economic crisis for decades. During this worrying time we have continued supporting our REMS (Retained Energy Management Service) clients both remotely and onsite with Decarbonisation Plans, Energy Strategies & Energy Efficiency along with other strategic documents. The team managed to complete over £14m in PSDS 3B Applications on behalf of our clients, with a number of these looking to be successful as grant offer letters are due in January. Our consultants also worked on meeting compliance deadlines in relation to UKETS, SECR and the annual DEC drive.
As winter melted into spring, LCE welcomed two new members of staff to our ever growing team, Aisling Crowley and Abigail Courtin, who joined the Company as Energy & Sustainability Consultants. During Spring we assisted a number of our clients with their PAM (Premise Assurance Model) assessments ensuring they met with requirements and assisting with Action Plans. This meant our clients were ready to submit their PAM in time for the summer deadline and were aware of any areas that needed to be addressed over the coming year. For the first time, we are working regularly alongside Trusts outside the PAM window to drive actions and provide supplemental documentation where needed.
June began with our CEO, Darren Jones, attending a viva following submission of his PhD thesis “Strategic Energy Management within Hospitals: Barriers to Energy Efficiency and the Impact of Design Margins”. We are extremely proud that all of Darren’s hard work and dedication have proved fruitful, and he will be receiving his PhD later in the year.
As summer progressed LCE were delighted to welcome another two members of staff, Rebekah Wolfe, Personal Assistant, and Sonia Rosenblatt, Sustainability Consultant. During this time LCE continued to support our REMS (Retained Energy Management Service) clients both remotely and onsite. This period allowed us to undertake Energy Audits and a range of other projects which had previously been delayed by restrictions in onsite attendance. September saw Darren Jones, CEO, welcome a new addition to his family with the birth of his beautiful granddaughter and also saw the return from Maternity leave of our Head of Business Administration, Emma Rudd.
LCE have always been mindful of the impact upon our planet of energy waste and the need to reduce carbon emissions. We have provided sustainability support over several years to our clients, including Behaviour Change Campaigns; Green Plans & Decarbonisation Plans along with other strategic documents, such as Energy Strategies.
Whilst we provide compliance services all year round to our clients, the latter part of the year tends to be a busy period for Energy Compliance. During this period, we undertook a number of compliance services such as DECs, EPCs and TM44 Inspections and are happy to report that many have improved over the last year.
November has seen another new member joining our Admin Team, Helen Bartley, as an Administration Assistant. COP27 took place in Egypt and LCE have been inundated with requests to support our clients with their plans to utilise decarbonisation specific technologies and optimisation of their existing building service systems.
As the year comes to a close, we look back at all that has been achieved despite the worldwide energy crisis and are thankful for the wonderful memories we have made as a team and the support we have provided to our clients, both old and new. Happy Christmas to everyone and we hope 2023 will be a good year for you all.
