Service Statistics

Electricity and Gas

Our electricity is supplied by a renewable energy provider and is monitored via a back-office portal with monthly monitoring spreadsheets. From this, energy consumption posters are circulated to Commands / Divisions to raise awareness of their consumption.   

Gas consumption is monitored on a monthly basis through Automatic Meter Readers (AMRs) for all gas sites. The consumption is recorded and used to monitor performance and to highlight any significant increase or decrease in usage per Command.

Oil usage

As well as gas and electric consumption, the Service also has 7 heating oil tanks located over 5 sites. These are monitored by the use of Watchman technology transmitter units, which are fitted to the tank and warns when stocks are running low or if there may be an issue with the tank, such as a leak.

Our oil usage is higher in 2020/21 and is a result of the installation of a new heating system at the Earlswood site. It is understood that a high amount of Oil was used when the heating system was first installed. Over the next year, we are expecting to replace the heating oil tanks with gas boilers, where possible, which will leave the Service with only 2 heating oil sites.

Across the Service, all of the oil tanks are either double skinned or are held within a suitable bund. The integratory of which are checked annually during internal Environmental Station Audits or by external qualified engineers.  Emergency procedures are in place in case of any spills by either stations or delivery drivers carrying out refills. Each oil tank location also has a spill kit on site to deal with any leaks or problems.

The Water Resources (Control of Pollution) (Oil Storage) Regulations 2016, also ensures further measures are in place to guarantee no oil is leaked to the surrounding environment.

Most carbon emissions produced by the Service are measured annually to monitor our overall impact on the environment. As a Service we try to reduce our carbon emissions each year by raising awareness on energy consumption, carrying out environmental campaigns to reduce station emissions, installing solar panels on Service buildings and using green technology in stations where possible.

The energy related Carbon emissions (in tonnes) are recorded below.

The energy-related Carbon emissions (in tonnes) are recorded below.

Conversion factors

The figures used to calculate carbon emissions are taken from the DEFRA conversion factors published on their website. These carbon conversion factors change each year which is reflected in our monitoring. 

Electricity factors used for 2020/21 is 0.23314 and 2021/22 is 0.21233

Gas factors used for 2020/21 is 0.18387 and 2021/22 is 0.18316

Oil factors used for 2020/21 is 0.24666 and 2021/22 is 0.24677

A conversion factor is used to calculate energy consumption in common units and to work out the carbon emissions associated with energy use.

In 2021, Welsh Government published guidance and targets for all Public Sector Organisations to follow to work towards Net Zero Carbon by 2030. As a Public Body, we have aligned our objectives, where possible, to Welsh Government targets.

We monitor our carbon emissions through monthly utility consumption figures and via annual monitoring of Scope 1 (Direct emissions) and 2 (Indirect emissions).

The purpose of separating the Greenhouse Gas emissions into Scopes is aimed at avoiding double counting of the Service’s emissions and can help organisations see what they can control directly compared to what emissions they can influence. (Scope 3)

The table below shows our emissions in tonnes CO²e per year (tonnes).

Currently we monitor some Scope 3 emissions, but not all. Moving forward, we hope to improve this year on year. 

Included within the Scope 3 emissions in the table above are:

• Waste collection, treatment and disposal Services
• Computer, electronics
• Wearing apparel

Welsh Government Emission Targets

In line with the Welsh Government, we need to work towards an initial target of 37% average reduction by 2025.

There is currently a large reduction on Scope 1 and 2 emissions in relation to the 2019/20 baseline year. This could be due to the number of measures we have installed over the last couple of years or due to the lasting impacts of the pandemic lockdown resulting in less vehicles on the road due to an increase in working from home. This will be reviewed further in 2022/23 figures.

The Service currently has 8 locations with Solar PV panels installed, with the most recent being fitted to our Service Headquarters, Carmarthen and Earlswood Training sites.

• Aberystwyth Fire Station
• Amman Valley Fire Station
• Earlswood Training Facility
• Llanelli Fire Station
• Morriston Fire Station
• Service HQ, Carmarthen
• Whitland Fire Station
• Dafen Workshops

To date, the Solar PVs have generated the following figures since they were installed: 

As illustrated in the table above, solar power is an immense source of directly useable energy. The transition towards a more renewable energy supply is economically viable for the Service. However, the Service will continue to utilise these year-on-year figures to monitor our energy performance to better understand our consumption.

2021/2022, we generated more Units, however received a smaller payment. This is because, payment is received only for PV’s installed before 2019. From 2019, extra energy generated by the Service PV’s is returned direct to the grid to reduce our energy tariff. For further information, please contact a member of Estates Department.

We have approximately 330 vehicles in our fleet, including both operational and non-operational pool vehicles. Due to the vast rural landscape of the area of Wales in which we operate, and the nature of the Service, as an emergency responder, this can limit our options when it comes to transport for operational requirements.

Despite this, we have introduced a number of improvements to our fleet such as Electric Vehicles and Electric bikes. We continue to research all Ultra Low Emission Vehicle (ULEV) alternatives to fossil fuel and sustainable technology for our fleet and sit on a number of external ULEV groups throughout the Service area.

Government funding opportunities and funding from the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) has meant that sustainable improvements to our fleet and electric charging infrastructure can be achieved, such as electric vehicle charging points on Service Premises.

The table below shows the diesel used and the carbon emissions from the last 2 financial years. The following figures have been provided by the Fleet Engineering and Logistics Department.   

Conversion factors:

Diesel (ltrs) factors used for 2020/21 is 2.54603 and 2021/22 is 2.51233

The increase in the fleet statistics could be due to the lower usage of vehicles due to the pandemic restrictions throughout 2020, this would result in this year’s figure being lower than expected. A better reflection of vehicle usage will be captured in the Annual Environmental Report 2022/2023.

Due to the restrictions posed on us by COVID-19, the Service worked effectively and efficiently to maintain core business activities via alternative practices. A good example of this, is the use of remote video inspections, which enabled the Business Fire Safety team to safely undertake virtual Fire Safety Audits of commercial premises, as opposed to the traditional face to face arrangement. This arrangement is now being expanded to form part of the Inspectors’ normal auditing targets.

Following a fleet review on the usage of pool vehicles in 2020, it was decided that a number of end-of-life pool vehicles would not be replaced, but instead a new Spot Hire programme would be established to allow for Staff to hire vehicles if needed. This would eliminate the issue of vehicles not being used for periods of time and would ensure more efficient vehicle usage. This was introduced alongside the implementation of Electric Vehicles (EVs) into the pool fleet and has been well adopted.

Business miles are calculated separately to our overall Fleet and can be found in the table below, this includes mileage of private vehicle for business use: