How can an organisation procure energy?

You can either procure energy in-house or you can use an energy broker to look for an energy supplier on your behalf. You should look for an energy contract that is cost effective meets specific needs. Depending on your level of risk you may prefer fixed or flexible rates and many organisations have special requirements due to their energy consumption depending on the industry.

Energy Procurement Services

Q: What is the aim of energy procurement?

All organisations require energy resources such as natural gas, electricity and water to power their operations. All organisations will aim to obtain the most economically practical energy and water deals for their organisation, that takes into account their consumption, predicted usage and the potential sustainability and renewables goals

Get the best energy and utility deals suited for your business to save you time and money

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Selecting the best energy contract for your business isn’t easy. Utilities and energy procurement can be frustrating if it takes up a significant amount of your time. Searching for the best deal, and understanding the small print within energy contracts can be confusing.

The UK energy market is complex with multiple electricity and gas suppliers to choose from. They all offer a range of different business energy contract types, extras, perks and green options. Due to the increasingly volatile market and the risks associated with selecting the wrong contract for your business, energy procurement is an area not to overlook.

At Professional Energy Services we help you manage the purchase of business energy and utility contracts. Whether your goal is price optimisation or flexible purchasing, we will find the right energy contract for you. We work together to understand your requirements, business infrastructure, attitude to risk, energy consumption, and predicted usage. We negotiate with lead suppliers on your behalf as we run a full national tender across all vetted suppliers, creating a competitive environment that ensures you maximise the value you get out of the marketplace and right energy contract for your business. This may range from fully fixed products to flexibly bought energy.

By forming a partnership with an energy procurement consultant you will receive:

Energy brokers that handle the timing of supply contract extensions and negotiate contract terms to ensure you get the best deal.

Recommendations of which contract options to take based on your energy portfolio and objectives (including sustainability goals)

An optimised price through our trading team once your supply contract is agreed

Knowledge on the latest market energy rates and positions for total assurance around the performance of your strategy

The 4 step approach to energy procurement

1 – Understanding your goals

Listen to your goals and understand your supply contract needs

2 – The Plan

Set out a purchasing plan that is optimized to your requirements

3 – Trading

Our energy brokers negotiate with supplier and run a tender to secure your supply contract.

4 – Reporting

keep up to date on market movements, traded and position and benefits achieved.

Fixed Energy Procurement

A fixed energy procurement allows you to fix all your energy charges for the long-term and secures all of your commodity and non-commodity costs.

Benefits:

Budget certainty
Protection against third-party costs
Protection against large market swings
Simple billing
Less Management time needed

Flexible Energy Procurement

Flexible Energy Procurement enables you to take multiple positions in the market, allowing you to manage your position actively and take advantage of any downward trends.

Benefits:

Multiple buying opportunities
Greater transparency
The possibility of selling back
Take advantage of a falling market
Ability to re-forecast volume

Water Procurement

You can now tender a contract from a range of water suppliers instead of being limited to a single vendor.

Benefits:

Improved services
Competitive rates
No more regional monopolies
Varying contract options

Energy Procurement FAQ

What is energy procurement?

Energy procurement is the strategic process of sourcing your required energy by purchasing it from a third party energy supplier or local distribution company (LDC).

What is the aim of energy procurement?

The obvious aim is that every business requires energy resources such as natural gas and electricity to power their operations. All businesses will aim to obtain the most economically practical energy deals for their organisation, that takes into account their consumption, predicted usage and the potential sustainability and renewables goals.

How can my company procure energy?

You can either procure energy in-house or you can use an energy broker to look for an energy supplier on your behalf. When procuring energy, you should look for an energy supplier that is cost effective and competitive on price but also a contract that meets your needs specifically. Depending on your level of risk you may prefer fixed or flexible rates and many businesses have special requirements due to their energy consumption depending on the industry.

What are the pros and cons of procuring energy in-house?

If you decide to do your procurement in-house you will gain savings due to avoiding the broker or consultancy fees. The disadvantage to in-house procurement is that it requires a lot of research to find the best deal and can be very time consuming, On top of this you may make a mistake without the help of an expert and this could result being stuck in an uncompetitive fixed-term contract that costs your business more money than it should, Also you are unlikely to be offered the best tariffs if you work with energy suppliers directly, whereas a broker has access to more competitive rates.

What are the benefits of outsourcing energy procurement?

The benefits of outsourcing your energy procurement to an energy specialist include:

They will work on your behalf to review all the available energy supply contracts and select the tariff that best suit your businesses’ needs, saving you time and stress as your no longer searching through different tariffs and reviewing energy contract small print
Reduced risk of your business being placed in an inefficient contract due to a consultants industry experience
Access to cheaper tariffs that business owners would not see if working directly with suppliers.
Transparent advice tailored to your business objectives which include lower risk of unforeseen charges, hidden fees, and costs and more informed load forecasting

Speak to an energy consultant to discover the best energy procurement strategy for your business.