Guide / Manage
Manage bills and usage: keep the energy contract under review
Bring invoice checks, usage analysis and purchasing forecasts into the agreed support service. Clear records help explain the bill, investigate changes and keep the next energy decision informed.
Agree what happens after signing
If a school uses a TPI for ongoing support, its contribution depends on the written scope. Request a service schedule identifying who checks bills, investigates consumption anomalies, forecasts spend and coordinates supplier issues. Record the information required, response targets and how unresolved cases escalate. A procurement-only appointment should not be assumed to include these continuing tasks.
DfE's energy-efficiency guidance begins with understanding use. For this buying programme, the practical link is the forecast, meter record and action log: the same verified information should support invoice checks, supplier conversations and the next procurement. Changes to school operations remain the responsibility of the relevant school staff.
Start with a baseline that explains operation
Read the meters and compare actual use with the school's timetable. Separate term, holiday, weekend and overnight patterns. Record occupancy, weather, lettings, catering and changes in equipment. A high overnight baseline may warrant investigation, but it is not automatically waste: servers, security, refrigeration, residential accommodation or other essential services may explain part of it.
Use this starting point to commission focused analysis rather than a vague promise of savings. A boarding school's continuing operation differs from that of a day school. Special settings and shared community facilities also have distinct requirements. Ask the school contact to confirm the cause of an unusual pattern before treating it as avoidable demand or changing a purchasing assumption.
Turn usage and billing findings into controlled actions
The review should lead from an observed difference to a checked explanation and a named action. The schedule below stays within usage analysis, bill checking and supply-contract management. It does not assume every anomaly establishes waste or a supplier error.
| Finding | Evidence to check | Buying or management action |
|---|---|---|
| Bill and meter totals differ | Reading dates, actual versus estimated values, units and meter identity. | Ask for a reconciliation and retain the corrected account position. |
| Overnight or holiday use changes | Comparable interval data, occupancy, lettings and school-confirmed activity. | Record the cause, owner and follow-up before revising expected demand. |
| Consumption differs from forecast | The period, demand assumptions and relevant volume clauses. | Update the forecast through the agreed process and test contractual consequences. |
| A charge differs from the accepted offer | Signed rates, standing or capacity charges and the invoice period. | Raise a supplier query and track the response and any confirmed credit. |
| A planned change is delayed | Supported timing and revised electricity or gas requirement. | Test the alternative scenario and notify the relevant supplier or adviser. |
| A query remains open | Case reference, promised response date and unresolved evidence. | Use the agreed escalation route and retain a named next action. |
Keep demand forecasts and supply commitments aligned
Give the adviser, where appointed, a dated account of proposed and confirmed changes to consumption. Extra boarding places, altered lettings, a closure or an additional site can change the buying requirement. Record the expected effect on electricity and gas, confidence in that estimate and the date from which it applies. Keep a second scenario where timing or demand remains uncertain.
Before accepting a supply agreement, test its volume provisions against these scenarios. During the term, notify the relevant parties through the agreed process when the requirement changes. The role is to keep the consumption forecast and supplier commitments consistent, with the school retaining its own supporting evidence.
Measure the outcome without counting it twice
Set the baseline, review period and comparison method before claiming an improvement. Track kWh and operating conditions as well as pounds. A bill can fall because prices fall while consumption rises, or rise after usage falls because prices increased. Explain those movements separately.
Our suggested quarterly report has four separate lines: comparable tariff effect; measured consumption change; verified billing or tax correction; and fees for the agreed support. A prospective refund is not received cash, and an assumed reduction is not a measured result. Show how each benefit was calculated without counting it twice.
Finish each review with a decision
For each finding, state the evidence, next investigation, accountable person and review date. Prioritise the unresolved billing and consumption questions that affect the budget or the next buying decision. An alert becomes useful when someone can explain its cause and act. Keep the purchasing forecast, account position and next renewal timetable current throughout the contract.