Government saves €15m on energy bills through bulk purchase

Belgium's federal government has saved €15m on energy after awarding utility company Electrabel a contract last year for a group purchase on behalf of 1,500 public buildings, SeeNews reports. According to Servais Verherstraeten, state secretary for the public buildings administration, bundling energy supply contracts in the sector into a group purchase agreement in late 2012 has already brought the government much more savings than expected. Previous prognoses were for annual cost savings of €6m on group purchase of energy. The contract with the country's largest utility firm, Electrabel, was remarkable as the company was then criticised over its high rates, resulting in frictions within the ruling coalition.