02/06/2008

• More than 70% of UK Bus supply to come from hydro, wind and biomass
• Smart meters to be introduced at around 240 sites to help cut energy use
• Two-year £3.5million contract signed with leading supplier Opus Energy

Stagecoach is to source most of its electricity requirement for its UK bus operations from renewables as part of its strategy to make its operations more environmentally sustainable.

Electricity generated from mostly small-scale hydro, as well as on-shore wind and biomass, will provide more than 70% of the company’s required supply, with the remainder coming from cleaner, low-carbon sources.

The use of renewable sources to generate electricity will decrease emissions of carbon dioxide, one of the greenhouse gases leading to global warming.

Stagecoach is also installing smart meters to help cut energy use as part of a £3.5million contract with Opus Energy, a leading independent supplier of electricity to UK businesses.

The new two-year contract covers electricity supply to around 240 UK sites operated by Stagecoach, which runs 7,000 buses, one of the UK’s largest fleets.

Using an innovative flexible purchasing product, Opus Evolution, Stagecoach will be able to directly access wholesale energy prices via a secure online platform and purchase electricity at the prevailing market price.

Smart meters will allow Stagecoach to monitor electricity consumption at each site, receive accurate readings and bills, and take steps to improve energy efficiency. According to The Carbon Trust, an average business can reduce its consumption by 12.3% per annum through the use of smart meters.

Les Warneford, Managing Director of Stagecoach UK Bus, said: “This new partnership with Opus Energy is a key element of our strategy to make our business more sustainable, offer greener, smarter travel solutions to our customers, and help tackle the challenge of climate change.

“The installation of smart meters at the majority of our sites also means we can be more vigilant about what energy we are using and when, which will help us take steps in reducing our energy consumption and our carbon footprint. It will ensure our electricity requirements are sourced mostly from renewables and further cut CO2 emissions from our operations.”

Steve James, Head of Corporate Accounts at Opus Energy, said: “We’re excited to be working with Stagecoach. The combination of using smart meters in tandem with the Opus Evolution product allows them to directly monitor their usage and then plan and purchase energy accordingly.

“Large companies like Stagecoach need to have an even greater understanding of and control over their energy purchasing requirements in these times of increased market volatility. This is a sterling example of how independent energy providers can offer great solutions to suit the large corporate energy buyer’s needs.”

Stagecoach has already cut emissions from around 90 of its workplaces across the UK by more than a third after the introduction of a hi-tech energy management system. Gas consumption has been slashed by an average of 36%, while CO2 emissions have been cut by more than 6,200 tonnes a year.

Developed by Manchester-based Vickers Electronics Ltd, the technology uses self-learning predictive programming, coupled with high accuracy temperature sensing. It takes over the control of the existing heating and delivers improved control, staff comfort and dramatic reductions in energy consumption, saving hundreds of thousands of pounds a year.

Stagecoach is also involved in a number of pioneering initiatives to cut carbon emissions and encourage greener travel.

The company is testing the UK’s first Bio-buses, which run on 100% biodiesel manufactured by Motherwell-based Argent Energy Ltd. The bio-fuel is manufactured from used cooking oil and other food industry by-products, which are from sustainable sources that do not involve the destruction of natural habitats or compete with the human food chain. The environmental project also allows customers to exchange used cooking oil for discounted bus travel.

Since the initiative was launched in October 2007, it has cut C02 emissions from the buses by 80%, saving 550 tonnes of carbon, and more than 21 tonnes of used cooking oil has been recycled.

Stagecoach currently uses a blend of 5% biodiesel across its 7,000-vehicle UK bus fleet. The Group also uses a hi-tech fuel additive manufactured using nanotechnology to keep emissions from its fleet to a minimum.

Last month, Stagecoach launched Scotland’s first carbon neutral bus network. The ground-breaking environmental initiative, in partnership Scottish charity Global Trees, will see all of Stagecoach's Fife to Edinburgh bus network become carbon neutral for the next five years. Around 140,000 trees will be planted in the south of Scotland this year, saving 21,500 tonnes in CO2 emissions.

ENDS

For further information, please contact

Stagecoach Group
Steve Stewart, Director of Corporate Communications,
T. 01738 442111 (office) or 07764 774680 (mobile)
E. steven.stewart@stagecoachgroup.com

Opus Energy Press Office
Georgina Ruttle / Susie Patterson
T. 0207 269 7255 / 7233
E. georgina.ruttle@fd.com / susie.patterson@fd.com

NOTES TO EDITORS

Stagecoach

• Stagecoach is one of UK’s biggest bus and coach operators, connecting communities in more than 100 towns and cities.
• The company runs around 7,000 vehicles from Devon in south-west England to the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, carrying around 2 million passengers every day.
• Stagecoach services cover many of the UK’s major cities, including Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle, Sheffield, Hull, Oxford and Cambridge, as well as key shire towns and rural areas.
• For further information, go to www.stagecoachbus.com

Opus Energy

• Opus Energy is a leading independent supplier of business electricity offering companies best-price electricity together with tailored customer care.
• Its flexible, tailor-made solutions suit businesses across the SME and larger corporate market.
• Opus, with offices in Oxford and Northampton, has over 40,000 customers across the country, including Yell Group, Thorntons, Reuters, Farmfoods and Deloitte & Touche.
• Launched just six months ago the Opus Evolution flexible purchasing product is a market first. Using new technology, pioneered and offered exclusively by Opus Energy, a secure online platform allows energy buyers direct access to real time, wholesale energy prices. The web site displays the customer’s forecast energy consumption against the current energy price. Customers can then purchase bundles of electricity at the current market price according to their company’s consumption needs.
• Energy supplied by Opus Energy to its customers comes from cleaner, low-carbon sources – 70% from small scale hydro, 1% from on-shore wind, 0.5% from biomass and 28.5% from cleaner Combined Heat and Power (CHP) produced by CHP generators. Along with the power, the generator provides Opus with a certificate accredited by Ofgem, the UK energy regulator. This certificate, called a Levy Exemption Certificate, is only awarded where the generator has demonstrated that the power they have produced is either renewable or has been generated in a cleaner CHP plant.
• For further information, please see www.opusenergy.co.uk