Which do you tackle first – energy saving at your school, or your energy contract? It really depends how close you are to the end of your energy contract.
Check how long left on your energy contracts
If you are in the last 1-2 years of your school energy contract, we recommend looking at this first, especially when electricity prices are rising.
Why? Well, when prices are increasing, the earlier you can confirm prices for your start date (which could be 18 months away) the lower they will be. Waiting another 6-12 months will mean higher prices when you come to arrange the next contract. Of course, if prices are falling, then it makes sense to wait longer to maximise savings.
While we busy ourselves with your energy prices, you could check your school energy consumption.
Read more information on school gas prices and electricity prices or call us for advice.
Check the VAT on your school energy bill
Are your gas and electricity bills charged at 5% or 20% VAT?
For smaller meters you may notice some bills at the lower rate and some at the higher rate. This is because your monthly energy use is close to the de-minimis volume set by HMRC. Some months you go over it, and some months you use less. The de-minimis values are:
De-minimis value for electricity is 1,000 kWh per month
De-minimis value for gas is 4,397 kWh per month
You can read more on de-minimis energy and VAT on the HMRC website.
However, if your school energy use is over these monthly values, and you think the school qualifies for the lower rate of VAT, then let us know. We will send you the correct VAT declaration to complete from your energy supplier and log this with them for you.
Most suppliers will then refund any historic overcharges for the last 4 years, and amend all future bills accordingly.
Call us on 020 3372 6517 for more information and advice.
Reduce energy wastage
If you have now checked the price you are paying on your school energy bills, you should also look at the energy used by the school. Reducing this in conjunction with your energy prices, is strongly recommended.
For example, heating classrooms accounts for a massive 50% of the energy spend of a typical school. If you can reduce this by 5-10%, you will save a considerable sum every year.
We have provided some tips at the end of our page on school gas prices. These require no cost outlay other than a little of your time, and you should see a marked improvement in gas consumption if you aren’t already utilising these measures.
There are, of course, many more additional measures you can take. These have a variety of costs associated with them and you will need to ascertain how many years it will take to get a return on the initial outlay.