The DfE energy row is missing the question that actually matters to your trust
The Energy Consultants Association (ECA) have urged the DfE to correct ‘misleading’ energy claims. For MATs and academies, it’s worth understanding what that debate is really about. But whichever side you favour, the reality is the same: no single procurement route is right for every trust.
What the dispute is actually about
The ECA has written to the education secretary raising concerns about two claims the DfE has made to schools under its Maximising Value for Pupils programme, launched in December to help school finances stretch further, with a particular focus on energy.
The ECA’s challenge centres on two claims. First, the DfE says its energy is bought “up to 30 months ahead when market conditions are right,” implying active timing of the market. The ECA says it is actually bought in stages to smooth out price swings, which is not the same as securing the lowest price. Second, the DfE has suggested broker deals leave schools exposed to price rises. The ECA disputes this, noting many broker contracts are fixed-price for that reason, and that brokers typically offer more than a contract, including bill checks and help managing usage across sites.
It’s an interesting debate, and one that schools should be aware of. But in our view, it also risks distracting from the question that matters most.
Why the argument itself is not the point
‘One credible option among several’ is roughly how any procurement decision should be treated, energy or otherwise. There is no single right answer for every trust, and the right route depends on your estate, your existing arrangements and what you are trying to achieve.
That’s why this debate only tells part of the story. Neither side answers the question that ultimately determines whether a trust is losing money: does it know what it is spending, site by site, and why? A trust may secure a competitive tariff through the DfE, a broker, a framework or another compliant procurement route, but still fail to achieve best value if it lacks visibility of what is happening across its estate.
Where the real savings tend to sit
In our work with trusts, the recoverable value in energy spend rarely comes from the contract alone. It tends to come from three things:
- Knowing what each site is actually spending, rather than relying on a single trust-wide figure that hides which schools are the problem. A tariff that looks competitive at trust level can still be masking one or two sites running well above where they should be.
- Tracking contract and renewal dates centrally, so decisions get made ahead of time rather than by default. Auto-renewals and missed break clauses are one of the most common ways trusts end up locked into uncompetitive contracts.
- Understanding where the building itself is the issue, whether that is heating, controls or fabric, so any investment is targeted rather than guessed at. This is usually where the largest recoverable value sits, and it is also the area trusts are least equipped to assess on their own. It typically needs a proper technical audit of the estate, and depending on what that finds, anything from smarter heating controls through to physical retrofit work or renewable technology.
For growing multi-academy trusts, these challenges become even greater. Every school often arrives with different suppliers, different contract terms, different renewal dates and different patterns of energy consumption. Without a joined-up view across the estate, opportunities are easily missed, and decisions become reactive rather than strategic.
The best approach
Our recommendation is simple: understand your position before deciding your procurement route.
Rather than starting with the question, “How should we buy our energy?”, we encourage trusts to begin by asking, “What does our estate actually need?”
We always recommend starting with an independent look at where your trust actually stands, covering current contracts, consumption data and the condition of the estate. This can be achieved through an independent Energy Health Check, which is one of the energy services we offer at Procure Education.
The health check uses a suite of diagnostic tools to provide a high-level assessment of current arrangements and identify where the greatest opportunities may exist. There’s no cost involved, and no upfront engagement needed from any of your current suppliers. Where appropriate, this health check can be supported by more detailed Technical audits of individual sites, helping establish whether inefficiencies stem from procurement, plant performance, building fabric, controls or operational practices.
Alongside this, we help trusts develop greater visibility of their contract portfolio, renewal timelines and estate-wide energy position, enabling procurement decisions to be thoroughly planned and value for money to be evidenced. We don’t push a single product or technology, and we work alongside whatever procurement route is best suited to your specific trust. Sometimes that may be the DfE’s Energy for Schools service. Sometimes it may be a framework, broker or other compliant route.
Ultimately, the real question worth asking before your next renewal isn’t whether you have the best rate available. It’s whether you understand what is being spent, why, and whether it needs to be. If the answer is not a confident yes, that is where the conversation should start.
Procure Education works exclusively with schools and multi-academy trusts on procurement strategy, contract management and energy. If you would like an independent view of your trust’s energy position, get in touch.