TSA was quick to take advantage of a clause in the recent budget statement that would allow industries to seek an agreement for a discount that applied only to electricity. As the discount does not cover gas, there is no need to seek EU State Aids’ approval, a condition that has hitherto proved the main obstacle to an agreement.
Discussions on the fine detail are now underway and TSA hopes to launch its scheme this summer, once these negotiations are complete.
CEO Murray Simpson is now confident that an agreement will be reached and says the association must now work quickly to complete the details and send the application pack to industry members so they can return it by the deadline of 1 November.
Although the discount will only apply to electricity, laundries joining the TSA scheme must contract to reduce all their energy use (gas, electricity and oil) by an agreed percentage. This will be measured during the period 1 November 2009 to 31 October 2010 against the benchmark year 1 October 2007 – 30 September 2008.
