Central Purchasing Bodies (CPBs’) really should not lock your school into new 4 year energy framework agreements WITHOUT consulting with the relevant Head or School Business Manager first AND give them plenty of notice to make an informed decision. Energy for most Secondary schools / Academies is the highest spend behind wages and should demand the procurement respect it deserves. Requiring up to 12 months’ notice to opt out of a contract is unacceptable. As a procurement standard this is what you should expect to receive from a CPB:

• Notification of when the CPB is going to market;
• An instruction on what term is best value;
• By placing business on a “per meter” basis as opposed to “one supplier for the entire basket” negates winners andlosers within the tender;
• Providing an audit trail and top three suppliers;
• Full budgetary figures, both historic and projected;
• Do not accept being told your prices are going up by X%, you should demand actual unit rates. A 10% increase on 13p/kWh is more than 10% of 9p/kWh;
• Demand to know what the unit rates are from your new CPB agreement; who the supplier is and what term they have locked in to.
• For a flexible contract demand to know what % volume they have locked in; for how long and at what price.

We hope you find this impartial information useful but do give us a call on 0845 873 4463 if you would like to know more or discuss your current energy procurement arrangements.