Whole life costings for rising mains Peel STW

Summary

The request sought whole life costings for rising mains to three proposed Peel sewage treatment works sites. Manx Utilities disclosed costs for two viable options but withheld information for the third site as it was not held, citing commercial and economic interest exemptions for the remaining sensitive data.

Key Facts

• Operational costs for the pipelines are considered insignificant, so whole life costs consist primarily of capital costs.
• The Glenfaba Road site (Option b) was discounted as not-deliverable, so no cost information is held for it.
• Cost data for the Peel Power Station site (Option a) and Knockaloe Farm site (Option c) was released.
• The authority applied a public interest test and concluded that the risk of harm to tendering processes outweighed the benefit of disclosure.
• The disclosed figures represent total lifetime discounted Net Present Value (NPV) over 25 years at a 3.5% discount rate.

Data Disclosed

• 12 August 2017
• 14 August 2017
• 31 August 2017
• IM98957I
• 3.5%
• 25 years
• £1,689,962
• £3,542,496

Exemptions Cited

• Section 30(2)(b) of the Freedom of Information Act 2015 (Commercial interests)
• Section 30(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2015 (Economic interests of the island)
• Section 11(3)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2015 (Information not held)

Data Tables (3)

Full Response Text

Manx Utilities • PO Box 177 • Douglas • Isle of Man • IM99 1PS e: foi@manxutilities.im • t: 687687 • www.manxutilities.im

REFERENCE NUMBER IM98957I

REQUEST UNDER THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2015 (“the Act”)

Thank you for your online application dated 12 August 2017 and received by us on 14 August 2017 requesting the following information:

‘Please provide the whole life costings relating to: 1- The rising main from Peel pumping station to the proposed new sewage treatment works 2- The rising main from the new Peel sewage treatment works to the sewage outfall pipe

These are for the whole life costings for each of the three options being:

a-The site behind Peel power station b-The site adjacent Glenfaba Road c-The site at Knockaloe farm. ’

Our aim is to provide information whenever possible and the information we are able to provide is included within this letter.

Since the operational costs associated with pipelines are insignificant, the whole life costs for the rising main to and from the sewage treatment works consist primarily of capital costs.

Consequently, in this instance, some of the information is exempt from disclosure under sections 30(2)(b) and 30(1)(a) of the Act as its disclosure would prejudice the commercial interests of Manx Utilities and would be likely to prejudice the economic interests of the island.

Assessment of 30(2)(b)

A disclosure under the Act is deemed to be a disclosure to the world rather than a disclosure to an individual requestor. Manx Utilities is planning to undertake future speculative negotiations with contracted service providers which is crucial to the implementation of the Regional Sewage Treatment Strategy-Phase 2 (RSTS2) as set out in the Programme for Government.

The commercial sensitivity of these processes requires a cautious approach. Disclosure of budget estimates relating to capital purchases and tender processes will prejudice the commercial interest of Manx Utilities in that it would provide unfair competitive advantage to people with an interest in bidding their contracted services. This will limit the ability to achieve cost effective solutions.

Assessment of 30 (1)(a)

The most appropriate financial outcome for Manx Utilities ultimately presents the most appropriate financial outcome for Manx Utilities’ customers i.e. Island residents. Inability to achieve this is likely to be of detriment to Island residents as additional costs would have to be passed on to the end user.

These exemptions are qualified exemptions, and as such, are subject to the public interest test. The public interest must be something that is of serious concern and benefit to the public at large and not merely something of individual interest.

Public Interest Test

Factors in favour of disclosing the information include:

 To promote transparency of decision making in Government and the reasoning behind any decisions which are taken.  To scrutinise the actions of Government and be able to hold Government to account for its decision making.  Securing the best use of public resources.

Factors in favour of maintaining the exemptions include:

 The underlying purpose of these exemptions is to protect the economy and commercial interests.  Disclosure of this information could be used to achieve individual competitive advantage.  The disclosure of this information is likely to prejudice the success of tendering processes.  The nature of the commercial sensitivity associated with the tendering processes outweigh public interest.  Disclosure of this information will not only affect Manx Utilities but also Island residents.  This information will ultimately reside in the public domain, at which point, it will be open to public scrutiny.  There is no evidence to suggest that disclosure of this information will serve a wider public interest.

In assessing the weight to be attributed to each aspect of these arguments, Manx Utilities has considered that disclosure of the information subject to the prejudice based qualified exemptions has the potential to cause harm to a crucial Island infrastructure programme and the associated commercial sensitivities. Manx Utilities concludes that the risk of harm from disclosure outweighs any benefit that could be gained by the general public as a result of the information being disclosed.

Taking these considerations into account Manx Utilities has determined that the factors in favour of maintaining the exemptions outweigh the factors in favour of disclosing the information.

However, to advise and assist you, the whole life costs for pumping sewage to and from the proposed sewage treatment works at options a and c are illustrated in the table below:

Note: The Whole Life Cost figures provided are the total lifetime discounted NPV figures over 25 years based on a 3.5% discount rate.

Please also note that the Glenfaba site, at option b in your request was discounted as being not-deliverable and as such, we can confirm that under section 11(3)a of the Act, Manx Utilities does not hold this information.

Option No. Option Description Total Lifetime Discounted NPV a STW in fields opposite Peel Power Station
£1,689,962 c- STW at Knockaloe Farm
£3,542,496

Your right to request a review

If you are unhappy with this response to your Freedom of Information request, you may ask us to carry out an internal review of the response, by completing a complaint form and submitting it electronically or by delivery/post at the address or email below. An electronic and paper version of our complaint form can also be found on our website. If you would like a paper version of our complaint form sent to you by post, please don’t hesitate to let us know. Your review request should explain why you are dissatisfied with this response, and should be made as soon as practicable. We will respond as soon as the review has been concluded.

If you are not satisfied with the result of the review, you then have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner for a decision on:

1. Whether we have responded to your request for information in accordance with Part 2 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015; or
2. Whether we are justified in refusing to give you the information requested.

In response to an application for review, the Information Commissioner may, at any time, attempt to resolve a matter by negotiation, conciliation, mediation or another form of alternative dispute resolution and will have regard to any outcome of this in making any subsequent decision.

More detailed information on your rights to review is on the Information Commissioner’s website at: www.inforights.im. Should you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Yours sincerely

Coordination Team