Start with the supply and its actual use

Do not assume that every school pays the same VAT or Climate Change Levy. Identify the legal customer, each supply point, the activities served and the evidence supporting any relief. Fee-funded teaching, residential accommodation, charitable non-business activity and commercial lettings can require different treatment. A charity registration is the beginning of that enquiry, rather than its conclusion.

Keep two figures in the decision paper: the gross amount payable to the supplier and the eventual cost after any recoverable VAT. Procurement valuation includes VAT even where it can later be recovered. The school's finance or tax adviser should confirm recovery and apportionment; the TPI should explain what it has assumed.

A dated tax check matters now

HMRC's Fuel and Power Notice, updated 28 October 2026, states that qualifying electricity supplies in Great Britain are temporarily zero-rated from 1 October 2026 to 30 June 2027. Eligibility still depends on qualifying use. This is not a blanket zero rate for all school electricity, and it does not make all gas supplies zero-rated. Contracts spanning the end of the temporary period need a dated tax schedule rather than a single unchanged tax assumption.

For mixed use, request a documented assessment at the relevant supply level. HMRC's rules can treat a whole supply as qualifying when qualifying use reaches the specified 60% test; below that, apportionment may be needed. Boarding accommodation deserves its own assessment. The VAT on private-school fees and the VAT on fuel are separate questions.

HMRC's new EV charging provisions apply from 1 November 2026. Publicly accessible and workplace charging are not domestic use on that basis. Separate charity non-business rules may still matter. Identify whether charging is part of a general supply or a separate onward supply before deciding the treatment.

CCL needs its own evidence

Climate Change Levy is separate from VAT. HMRC identifies exclusions for domestic use, charity non-business use and certain small supplies. Business activities can remain chargeable even when carried out by a charity. Ask for the reasoning, appropriate certificates and retained records, rather than accepting an unexplained zero line on a quote.

Do not assume buying a tariff labelled as renewable removes CCL. Check the applicable rule. If an adviser identifies historic overcharging, agree the claim basis, evidence, fee and responsibility for corrections before counting any recovery as money available to spend.

Ask who provides the meter and the data

• Reconcile every MPAN or MPRN with the correct site, customer account and meter serial number. Investigate duplicate or dormant accounts.
• Identify separate metering, data and agent agreements, their fees, renewal dates and termination duties. A supply switch does not necessarily end those agreements.
• Request usable interval data, its time zone, units, completeness and whether readings are actual or estimated. Agree export formats and access on leaving the TPI.
• Ask the supplier how settlement reform affects your meters, service appointments, bills and quote assumptions. Do not presume that a smart meter creates an automatic saving or an appropriate time-of-use tariff.

Green claims: ask what is evidenced

Ofgem’s REGO scheme records eligible renewable generation, principally for supplier fuel-mix disclosure. Ask what evidence accompanies the particular product, how it matches the relevant volume and period, and what any premium buys. Claims about new generation or additional environmental benefit need their own support.

Agree the claim the school wants to make and the reporting method, version and school or trust boundary it uses. Where GHG Protocol applies, distinguish the location-based grid result from a market-based result supported by qualifying contractual evidence. Ask for the relevant product or supplier emission factor and its basis rather than calculating a factor from a general fuel-mix statement. Record any reporting advice still needed.

Name who will provide and check the evidence, which school or trust and consumption period it will identify, and when it will be available. Ofgem’s March 2026 guidance distinguishes supplier fuel-mix use from voluntary cancellation for carbon reporting; the appropriate evidence route depends on the arrangement. Do not require a separate school cancellation letter for every tariff or treat forecast future consumption as already certified.

If comparing an existing renewable tariff with a proposed PPA, use a consistent reporting method and confirm who holds the relevant energy attributes and claims. Under GHG Protocol, where issued certificates are sold separately, the electricity recipient cannot claim that generator’s attributes. Resolve allocation in the agreement and use the solar programme for the project appraisal.

If a planned change affects the electricity or gas the school will purchase, carry its supported quantity and timing into the supply comparison. Check the volume and metering terms against that forecast. A renewable product does not establish lower physical consumption; tax treatment still depends on the actual charge and use.

Your next action

Add a one-page exceptions schedule to every quote comparison: VAT basis and dates; CCL status; excluded meter and data charges; variable non-commodity costs; green-product evidence; and unresolved questions. Name the person who must resolve each gap before approval. A clear exception is more useful than an apparently precise total built on unknowns.