💡 How we're managing energy costs at the Pelican Centre

08 Dec 2022

It's no secret that the leisure industry - amongst many others - is facing big challenges as the cost of energy ramps up. The Pelican Centre is no different, but here's how we're taking steps to manage our energy usage and costs.

How the Pelican Centre's managing energy costs

We know that the Pelican Centre is more than just a pool or a gym. For many of our members, it's a lifeline and a connection to others in the community, providing vital support, wellbeing and social interaction.

Importantly, we're not going away.

Our team's invested in new plant and machinery, and we're taking as many steps as we can to keep the centre up and running.

How are rising energy costs hitting the Pelican Centre?

To give you an example of the change in electricity costs we've experienced recently:

• In September, electricity costs were £1049
• In October, electricity rose to £7253

We received a small grant for October, which reduces the bill to £6433.

Overall, we expect our electricity costs for the coming year to triple. These numbers are the reality for many centres in the leisure sector at the moment, and we're sure you've seen articles in the press about possible centre and pool closures throughout the country.

We're letting you know our position, and what we're doing to minimise our energy costs as much as possible without adversely impacting on your experience at the Pelican Centre.

How are we reducing the amount of energy we use?

Investment in new plant and implementing some operational changes are helping us to control energy use. We've already: 

• Installed two new boilers in the plant room which are more energy-efficient
• Upgraded the remaining third boiler to increase its efficiency
• Installed a new flue system to reduce wastage
• Installed new variable speed drives for the pool plant room, which reduce the running speed of the swimming pool pump and therefore reduce our pool running costs 
• Some equipment is now run on timers, such as the vending machine in Reception
• We're monitoring our energy usage and closely tracking costs to ensure we use electricity as efficiently as possible

Chlorine costs

The cost of chlorine has risen to a record high this year too, particularly as a result of the war in Ukraine and in the aftermath of Covid.

We've invested in good stocks of chlorine which will help us to keep the pool open, clean and safe.

Membership fees

The steps we're taking are minimising costs as much as possible.

But you will notice that prices for some of our memberships and activities will increase in the coming months. We've kept membership prices level for as long as possible, but you'll appreciate that some small increases are necessary to keep up with our running costs.

We'll notify you when we come to implement price changes.

Thank you for your support.