Find the dates and the legal customer

Start with the signed supply agreement and any current adviser agreement. Identify the legal customer, supply points, fuel, supply end date, notice provisions and any separate meter or data arrangements. An email headed renewal is a prompt to check the underlying documents. Ask the current supplier to confirm the position in writing if the dates or terms are unclear.

Name a school lead and establish who can approve the route, spend and acceptance. A bursar may prepare a recommendation without having authority to bind every company or charity in a group. Identify any committee meeting, proprietor approval, lender condition or specialist review needed before a commitment can be made.

Know what happens if no new agreement is in place

Ask the current supplier what terms and rates would apply if supply continues after the present agreement ends. Obtain the applicable explanation rather than assuming a particular rollover or deemed-rate outcome. Domestic price-cap and cooling-off expectations should not be imported into a school business agreement.

Request a written account of any objection, debt, notice or metering issue that could affect the transfer. Record the action, responsible person and date. Keep paying and checking undisputed charges through the school’s normal process; obtain advice on a significant dispute rather than stopping payments as a negotiating tactic. Northern Ireland has its own regulatory arrangements and Consumer Council support.

Create a brief that can be used consistently

Prepare the verified meter list, consumption data, supply dates, operating changes and service required. Identify gaps openly. Give each provider the same version and record any correction. When using a TPI, agree a bounded authority for data requests and offers, disclose any existing appointment and confirm that final acceptance remains with the school’s authorised person.

Keep the adviser decision distinct from the supply award. A single coordinating adviser can reduce duplicated requests where it is the chosen approach, but that arrangement must have an appropriate selection process, clear fees and defined responsibilities. Several quotations do not by themselves settle which legal or internal buying procedure applies.

Use a controlled decision window

Ask how long an offer remains valid, which terms accompany it, what can change and how a refreshed price will be approved. The school needs a workable acceptance process within its authority. If public procurement rules apply to the actual buyer, obtain advice on a lawful procedure that accommodates market pricing; urgency does not itself create an exemption.

If considering a short bridge, compare its complete cost, conditions and subsequent renewal exposure. Explain why its duration suits the circumstances. Do not allow a rushed signature to conceal missing terms, a broad authority, an unaffordable security deposit or an unresolved exit cost.

Leave this stage with a dated action record

The useful outcome is a controlled next step with unresolved matters visible. An action checklist does not extend a contract, establish authority or approve a purchase. Use the evidence review alongside the bursar’s decision paper.