Buy a defined service, not an open-ended promise

A TPI may provide much more than prices. Ask what the proposed partnership includes rather than assuming that a service is provided. Agree what is included, what costs extra, who performs it and what evidence the school receives. A procurement-only brief and a managed energy service should be evaluated as different offers.

Use a service schedule alongside the fee statement. The following model is an editorial specification schools can adapt; it is not a statutory service standard or a claim that any named provider supplies every element. Agree achievable deadlines with the appointed adviser and identify a school owner for each action.

Assess the service before committing to it

Specify the service and full remuneration before seeking offers. Ask for relevant references, named delivery roles and a sample report. Where remuneration depends on consumption, establish how using less affects fees and continuing support. Require disclosure of referral, supplier and additional-service incentives.

For a Procurement Act competitive tender, relevant quality and whole-life cost can inform the most advantageous tender assessment. Criteria must relate to the contract, be clear, measurable, specific and proportionate, with the assessment method and relative importance disclosed in advance. Keep a separately contracted adviser’s services distinct from the supply award. Follow the applicable route and approvals; wider support does not remove competition duties or an academy’s approved-arrangement comparison.

Set responsibilities across the whole contract

Make the site consultation produce a decision

Where site support is required, specify preparation, attendance and a written output. Ask the adviser to review the meter register, bills and available interval data before meeting finance and premises colleagues. Include catering, IT, lettings and boarding staff where relevant. Agree the operating profile, evidence gaps, checked findings, action owners and review dates.

Establish the visitor’s competence and any specialist or subcontracted role. A TPI is not automatically an engineer. School staff retain authority over operations; technical recommendations require suitable competence. Protect comfort, ventilation, safeguarding and safe building operation. A completed visit is a service output, not evidence of a saving.

Where a climate or estate project changes the requirement, agree a specific handoff. Name the suitably competent person who validates the technical net-demand forecast, the adviser who tests it against supplier terms and the school officer who approves the buying requirement. Record the project reference, decision/funding status, affected meters, timing cases and dependencies. Obtain a dated supplier response on the relevant volume and change provisions.

Require material avoidable, continuing and contractual change costs to return to the project appraisal owner before commitment. Specify the output, review date, any separately procured specialist and additional fee. Climate-planning support, engineering validation, procurement advice and legal interpretation are different services; agree which question each appointment can resolve.

Complete the transfer before calling procurement finished

Confirm that the new supplier has registered every relevant meter with the intended start date and that existing termination requirements have been met. Keep opening and closing readings where appropriate, account details, VAT declarations and the first invoice check together. Resolve mismatches promptly rather than leaving them for the first annual review.

A commercial transfer should not be confused with physical supply resilience. Record supplier contacts for billing and contracts separately from network outage and emergency contacts. The TPI should explain its escalation role without promising control over network faults. Site staff still need the school's continuity arrangements.

Make invoice checking an accountable process

Define whether validation happens before payment, after payment, or only when an exception is raised. Agree the checks: contract rates, dates, meter identity, actual or estimated readings, standing and capacity charges, duplicates and applicable tax treatment. The school should know which invoices were checked and which were not.

For errors, require an issue reference, evidence, next action and escalation point. Report refunds separately from avoided future charges or estimates. Recovery should not be assumed until the supplier has agreed and credited or paid it. Confirm the adviser's fee for historic recovery work before commissioning it.

Connect monitoring to action

DfE's efficiency guidance starts with understanding consumption, then planning and implementing interventions. A useful report therefore answers three questions: what changed, why it needs investigation, and who should act. A rise in use is a signal, not proof of waste or a buying opportunity.

Agree data frequency, baseline periods and alert thresholds around the school's operations. Investigate holiday baseload, unexpected overnight heating or sudden consumption increases with site staff. Include missing data and unresolved meter faults. DESNZ's public-sector smart-meter examples illustrate how data can reveal problems; the meter or dashboard alone does not fix them.

Include staff support and follow-through

For confirmed avoidable usage, agree a practical action with the relevant staff group, a named owner, clear communication and a follow-up period. Match responsibilities to the school calendar, including end-of-day routines and holiday handovers. Essential overnight use must be explained before treating a pattern as waste.

A monthly exception report and a termly review with finance and premises colleagues are example frequencies to negotiate. Record issues, explanations, actions, owners and update dates. Track participation separately from measured kWh changes; account for weather, occupancy, hours and missing data. Update the buying forecast only when the findings justify it, checking volume tolerances and minimum-purchase terms.

Measure different benefits separately

Keep lower purchasing costs, billing recovery, reduced consumption, capacity-charge changes and staff time in separate categories. A refund is not a recurring annual saving. A proposed efficiency measure is not a realised result. Weather, occupancy and opening hours can affect a before-and-after comparison.

For significant projects, record the baseline, intervention date, investment, maintenance implications and measurement method. Avoid counting the same benefit in both procurement and efficiency totals. Ask advisers to disclose the comparator and whether any number is forecast, identified, verified or paid. This makes performance reporting useful to governors as well as finance staff.

Resolve specialist questions within the buying decision

A disputed contractual term, uncertain tax treatment or unresolved responsibility for meters or data may need appropriate specialist input. Identify who will resolve it, what information is required and any separate cost. A general energy service does not certify every legal or tax conclusion. Keep the agreed service focused on procurement, bills, usage information and supplier management.

Review service performance during the contract, including unresolved problems and access to the school's data. At renewal or exit, obtain usable consumption history, meter and contract registers, outstanding queries and fee information. Continuing support proves its value through work the school can see, understand and carry forward.

If renewable-product evidence forms part of the service, agree the school’s intended claim and reporting method, who supplies and checks the evidence, the school or trust and consumption period covered, and the delivery date. Ask for product-specific support where needed; a general promise of a green tariff is not the completed reporting evidence. Use the tax and metering guide to record the remaining questions.