York & North Yorkshire Strategic Energy Partnership opportunity

York and North Yorkshire (comprising of York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority, North Yorkshire Council, and City of York Council) have been granted £2 million of funding from the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) through the Local Net Zero Accelerator Programme (LNZA) to investigate the opportunities for a Strategic Energy Partnership (SEP) in the region.

SEPs between the public sector and a commercial partner are an emerging marketplace, with a growing number of successful partnerships originating across the UK. However, the unique characteristics, needs and requirements of each area produce a range of viable partnership models for exploration. Therefore, when contemplating an SEP each region must consider an approach that best fits the region's needs.

York and North Yorkshire has its own distinctive context and characteristics that will require an innovative approach to a SEP. With valuable insights and ideas from the market, we hope to shape our offering and develop a model tailored to the needs of our region, to build an exciting opportunity for all.

The purpose of this preliminary market engagement exercise is to take this prospect to the market, seeking valuable insights into the opportunities, innovations, and risks that can inform the further exploration and development of a SEPfor York and North Yorkshire. We are also seeking market insights into appetites around return, governance, and technology, as well as perceptions on different SEP models to help us to shape a profitable and enticing offering.

This preliminary market engagement process will be structured as follows:

•Hosting of a live webinar providing an overview of our region, including opportunities and challenges, and the SEP project.

•Once the webinar has finished, the link for an online questionnaire will be shared with attendees, allowing them to share their views.

•A recording of the webinar will be uploaded online, as well as this Programme Information Document which provides more detailed information on the project.

•Responses will be collected to further inform this project.

Further information can be found on document titled "PME - Programme Information Document" which provides details of Background and Context, Strategic Energy Partnership, Scale of opportunity and then a questionnaire to conclude the document. This document, and questionnaire can be found on York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority's website: https://yorknorthyorks-ca.gov.uk/project/building-a-regional-strategic-energy-partnership/

Please ensure if your organisation wishes to respond to the questionnaire, responses are sent to Rebecca.Haslam@yorknorthyorks-ca.gov.uk

York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority will also be hosting a webinar, which is free to join so further information can be given to interested suppliers and businesses. To access this webinar, please visit:

https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/2a12c997-8cfe-4005-a1c5-b9ef108587be@c1ae8065-d769-4047-b134-8a22b30c1c5f

The webinar will start at 12 noon, Wednesday 3rd September 2025.

The link is also be available on the Strategic Energy Partnership page on the Combined Authority website.

Please note - there is no set vision, or route for a procurement to be conducted at this stage. The purpose of this Pre Market Engagement notice is to inform the market, and interested parties where they can seek further information and help York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority shape the direction of travel.

Therefore, the contract start date, and contract end date are to be dismissed from the notice.