Guide
17 Sep 2025
We’re inviting schools to join our next group basket to benefit from our Zen Secure purchasing strategy starting in 2026. With Zen Secure, it’s always clear what you’re paying in advance, allowing you to lock in cost certainty and protect your school from future market volatility.
With the Zen Secure flexible strategy, energy is purchased over time but fully secured six months ahead of the delivery period, giving you complete budget certainty. You delegate us to purchase in advance, where we’ll use our extensive trading expertise to take advantage of year-on-year discounts, buying portions of your energy for the forwards periods while prices are low. It means you can take advantage of favourable prices when the market dips and avoid energy spikes during market volatility.
With our expert team monitoring the market and driving your purchasing strategy you can rest easy, spreading the risk of volatile market conditions and leveraging optimal prices throughout the duration of your contract."
Alex Payne
Director of Energy Markets & Procurement
With Zen Secure, you’ll always know exactly what you’re paying. We secure your energy costs well in advance, giving you a clear and transparent breakdown of charges so there are no unexpected surprises in your budget.
Our purchasing strategy locks in your school’s costs six months before your contract begins, ensuring full budget clarity for the entire period. You can plan with confidence, knowing your energy spend is fixed and protected.
We buy energy in advance, in smaller tranches, to take advantage of dips in the market. This spreads the risk and shields you from sudden price spikes that can happen if you purchase all your energy on one day.
Energy markets are unpredictable, but Zen Secure reduces your exposure by spreading purchasing across multiple points in time. This proven strategy balances opportunity with protection, lowering the risk of overspending during volatile periods.
Managing energy procurement can be complex and time-consuming. By joining our basket, you can leave the day-to-day monitoring and trading decisions to our expert team, freeing up your time to focus on running your school.
Zen Secure is not just about buying energy. You will also benefit from our wider support, from making sure your contracts start on time, to validating your bills and monitoring your consumption through our Portal. You’ll also access expert sustainability guidance and compliance advice to help with reporting and efficiency projects, ensuring your school gets long-term value as well as short-term savings.
To be included in the October 2026 basket, we’ll need signed contracts by 1 March 2026. This ensures we have enough time to complete all purchasing ahead of the first year. If this timescale is too tight, don’t worry, we can place you on a short 12-month fixed deal and then transition you smoothly into the October 2027 basket. Register your interest by completing the form below. By joining our group, you’ll access the strategies usually only reserved for larger organisations.
If you’re looking for budget certainty but don’t want to sign off all your energy spend on one day, this strategy gives you that freedom. Register your interest today.
And if you haven’t already, take a look at our complete energy procurement solutions designed to help your school or MAT achieve energy savings – plus a whole lot more.
