A new way to buy energy for your school or trust?

In a recent blog post, the Energy for Schools pilot at DfE is explained.

The scheme could enable schools and trusts to buy energy, save money and protect school budgets from the volatility of the energy market.

When prices hit record highs in 2022 many schools were locked into long term, fixed price contracts at a time when the energy prices were at their peak.

The Schools Commercial Team at DfE looked for a longer-term solution to offer better protection from this unregulated part of the market.  Most schools currently have fixed term, fixed price contracts. Whilst offering some certainty in pricing they are inherently risky and leave a school exposed to whatever the daily rate is upon their contract expiry; in the case of the 2022 crisis schools adopting this method of buying their energy saw their bills more than double.

The DfE began an energy pilot with 1,500 schools across 50 MATs of different sizes and geographical locations and concluded that schools taking part saved on average 36% on energy costs.

Essentially, schools are joining the DfE’s existing energy contract. The DfE become the ‘contracting authority’ and help schools to onboard to the new contract. Schools continue to get their own energy usage data and pay their own bills direct to the supplier. It is a rolling contract, and to terminate schools will need to give 30 months, plus a minimum of 15 working days’ notice.  See the blog for more details.