BHESCo stands for Brighton and Hove Energy Services Co-operative.

We are a social enterprise dedicated to reducing energy costs and carbon emissions in our community.

BHESCo provides energy consultancy, project management, project financing, and monitoring and maintenance services.

Most of our energy projects are developed for no upfront cost to customers through our innovative ‘Pay As You Save’ initiative.

BHESCo’s services are primarily focused on properties in East Sussex and West Sussex, but we can travel to locations across the South East and London where this is worthwhile for both parties.

Where applicable, BHESCo can provide energy consultancy services remotely, as we did when developing a Local Area Energy Plan for the Marches Local Enterprise region in Shropshire.

To book an energy survey please complete the appropriate online contact form:

Domestic/ household  

Commercial /organisation  

A social enterprise is a business with a purpose, beyond a focus on making profits – it’s a business that does good things to make the world a better place.

BHESCo’s purpose is to reduce the cost of energy for people in Sussex, to increase the renewable energy generation in our community, and to make buildings more energy efficient.

As a social enterprise, any profits accumulated by BHESCo are re-invested into new clean energy projects or channelled towards fuel poverty alleviation programmes.

As a co-operative BHESCo is jointly owned by our members.

Our members include our staff, our project customers, and people who have invested in our clean energy projects.

Members are invited to participate in the election of board members, the distribution of interest, and other business decisions during the Annual General Meeting.

As a co-operative, members have an equal say in how the business is run. Each member is entitled to one vote, regardless of how many shares they own.

BHESCo was founded in 2013 by our CEO Kayla Ente MBE.

BHESCo completed its first four energy projects in 2015 following a successful community share offer.

Read more about BHESCo’s history here.

BHESCo works with residents, businesses and community organisations to help them address the financial and environmental cost of their energy needs with clean, affordable, community-owned energy.

BHESCo surveys a property and designs an energy improvement plan, recommending the most cost-effective solutions to bring down energy costs and carbon emissions. Typical recommendations include solar panels, heat pumps, and insulation upgrades.

BHESCo project manages the installation of recommended measures for no upfront cost using a ‘Pay As You Save’ finance initiative. Upfront costs are met by our network of community investors who want to use their money to tackle climate change. This cost is then paid back by the project customer over an agreed number of years using a portion of the savings made from their monthly energy bills.

In this way, property owners can make their buildings more sustainable and access cheaper heat and power, without worrying about burdensome installation costs or technical complexities.

We make our service available at zero upfront cost, with repayments being made using our ‘Pay As You Save’ finance initiative.

Using funds invested by shareholders, BHESCo installs the energy equipment at no upfront cost on behalf of the customer.

This means that our customers will start to see savings immediately without spending any money.

By analysing a property’s energy usage, BHESCo can predict how much energy (and money) will be saved by installing certain energy saving or generating measures.

A portion of the savings achieved from customers’ monthly energy bills is used to repay the initial cost of the installation.

After an agreed number of years, the upfront cost is repaid to BHESCo and customers own and enjoy the full financial benefit of their energy saving equipment.

All of BHESCo’s projects begin with an on-site energy survey and an analysis of historic energy bills. This is to gain an understanding of how much heat and power your property uses, and to identify areas in need of improvement.

Our team will compile a detailed energy report of your property, recommending the most cost-effective improvements and the best sequence in which to install them.

If a customer chooses to engage BHESCo to project manage energy improvements, we can waive the initial fee for the energy survey.

For more information about a BHESCo energy survey, follow the relevant link below:

Commercial properties 

Household

The registrar for investors in BHESCo is a company called Ethex.

All investors in BHESCo can access their investment dashboard here. 

We meet the cost of our energy projects by raising funds through a community share offer or a community bond offer.

Individuals and organisations are invited to become investors in the projects in return for an annual interest payment, which is typically 5% of the value of their investment.

Rather than raise money for projects individually, BHESCo typically creates a package of projects before commencing with a fundraising drive.

Community energy is when people use their resources to support clean energy projects in the places where they live and work.

A community energy project is usually conceived and designed by people who live in the local area, and the engineers and contractors engaged to undertake the installation are normally local too.

When the people developing an energy project live in that community, other local residents can have confidence that the project will deliver real economic and environmental benefits for the area.

Establishing locally owned clean energy is often seen as an alternative to the capitalist model of big, profit driven corporations.

A community energy company is usually a hyper-local, not-for-profit social enterprise, where decision making is shared equally and benefits shared locally.

There are more than 580 community energy groups in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, made up of 69,500 members.

BHESCo is a member of Community Energy England which represents the sector at a national level and lobbies the UK Government on behalf of community energy groups.

BHESCo is a founding member of Community Energy South which represents the sector in the South East of England.

BHESCo does not install energy technologies.

We offer a consultancy and project management service and act as a trusted intermediary between property owners and energy equipment installers. In addition to providing upfront project finance, BHESCo can oversee insurance requirements, planning permissions, electricity grid connections, and energy export contracts.

Furthermore, as a co-operative which is owned by its customers, we remain accountable for our work and take responsibility for the ongoing performance and maintenance of equipment long after the initial installation is completed.

This embeds trust and accountability into all of our work and gives customers the reassurance that we will deliver the best results for their needs.

Anyone in the UK and EU is welcome to become a member of BHESCo.

You can find out more about investing in our community energy co-operative here.

BHESCo and Brighton Energy Co-op both operate in the community energy sector and are both active in the Sussex region. Whilst there are some similarities between the two companies there are also many differences.

Brighton Energy Co-op are known for developing big rooftop solar power projects such as those at Shoreham Port, and they have also developed several Electric Vehicle charging projects.

BHESCo has delivered multiple solar projects as well, but we have also developed a speciality in low-carbon heating and energy efficiency projects, which has become our niche within the community energy sector.

We’re great friends with Brighton Energy Co-op and have partnered with them on several fuel poverty alleviation programmes across the region.

As a community energy co-operative we are driven by a commitment to help the UK reduce its carbon emissions. Any initiative or business that is contributing to that goal has our complete and unwavering support.

BHESCo’s long-term goal is to own and operate enough energy generation to be able to offer a low-cost, 100% local and renewably sourced tariff to residents of Brighton and Hove.

Whilst our team is making great progress towards this goal, we are not yet in a position to offer a tariff of our own.

As a social enterprise BHESCo keeps the cost of our services as low as possible in order to ensure that everyone can afford to participate in the journey towards decarbonisation.

The cost of our energy survey/consultancy services depends on the size of a property, the nature of the work to be undertaken, and any travel time involved.

If a customer decides to engage BHESCo as a project manager and to finance their energy project with BHESCo’s ‘Pay As You Save’ initiative, all project development costs will be subsumed within the long-term Pay As You Save contract.

For households who are unable to afford our services and who are at risk of falling into fuel poverty, we make our services available at no cost.

If you or someone you are supporting is in need of extra help with their heating and energy costs you make a referral using our contact form.

The BHESCo office is open from 9am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday.

If you wish to contact us outside of these hours please write to us at info@bhesco.co.uk or leave a voicemail on 0800 999 6671.

BHESCo is closed on all UK Bank Holidays.