Flexible Energy Baskets - Risk ManagedOur Flexible Energy Baskets are exclusive to Catalyst, with our supplier driven service that connects your energy procurement with multiple other customers to form a stronger single collective of buyers.

A flexible energy basket is a basket of energy products that contains lots of customers combined energy spend which creates a single larger volume of consumption.

This single larger volume of consumption provides the ability for the electricity or gas to be purchased on the wholesale energy markets, as apposed to traditional fixed term contracts on the retail market.  Lots of business understand the benefits of purchasing energy this way, but don’t have the annual kWh volume in order to access them directly.

By combining like minded customer together into a single group, creates sufficient volume to trade this volume on the wholesale energy markets using a risk managed approach.

Flexible Energy Baskets

The most common contract option is fixed with prices fully secured at the day of acceptance.  This relies on luck rather than judgement in the hope that you get a price at the right time.

What is it?

By grouping together with other organisations, individual clients pool their collective volume together which reduces the overall rates they pay and reduces the risk premium for everyone.

To further reduce the cost for the collective portfolio, the multiple buying decisions and timing of those purchases are managed as a single portfolio.

This reduces the cost to serve from a supplier and those savings can be passed on directly to our customers and provide direct access to multi-million pound supplier volumes.  This in combination with our energy spend management platform provides an unrivaled solution to contract life-cycle management.

Who is it for?

This group buying service is provided to half hour metered customers with an annual consumption of between 1-GWh and 60-GWh that need access to wholesale energy markets through a flexible energy contract but don’t need a be-spoke flexible energy contract approach.

By combining individual requirements into one large portfolio with other similar like minded customers into a single risk managed portfolio.

For those customers that have traditionally used fixed retail energy contracts on electricity or gas this provides access to wholesale energy market prices.

What are the benefits?

As this is managed as a group it removes the cost associated with us managing any be-spoke flexible energy contract purchasing decisions and having to monitor the market for potential buying signals.

Along with our suppliers we manage multi-million pound purchasing decisions daily, and have special access and resources to constantly monitor markets for key buying signals.

This approach provides direct access to those resources and removes any additional cost to serve for those customers that don’t require a be-spoke flexible approach or a fixed price energy contract.

> Access wholesale energy prices
> Reduced risk premiums
> Fully managed service

> Half hourly metered sites
> 1-GWh and 60-GWh
> Portfolio managed

> Risk managed
> Low risk approach
> Lower price premiums

Product Selection Process

The following elements provide a menu of set product options for our Flexible Energy Basket Risk Managed Portfolio.

If these set options don’t support your business requirements then a be-spoke flexible energy solution could be a better option.  In this instance please contact us to further discuss available options.

Our award winning energy team can fully support any be-spoke flexible requirements, for those that would prefer a more tailored approach or for smaller consumption customers our SME team can provide a range of fixed and semi fixed contract options.

Our Flexible Energy Basket is designed to support the vast majority of customers within the consumption range and the flexibility means that you tailor the approach that best fits your business.

Flexible Energy Baskets Review

“Pick from a menu of options that best fits your business goals”

REQUEST A CALL BACK.

Would you like to speak to one of our energy advisers over the phone? Just submit your details and we’ll be in touch shortly. You can also email us if you would prefer.

    I would like to discuss:

    It's never to early12-months in advance of a contract start date is normal for our customers.

    Lets dispel one of the biggest myths with energy contracts that you don’t need to wait until a few months before the end of your contract to start a new contract.  Many organisations wait for an energy renewal price letter to arrive before they start reviewing alternative offers.  Suppliers are aware of this and often the letters are sent after the minimum notice period has already lapsed.

    All to often customers are then caught in the roll over trap or they don’t allow them selves enough time to review the market.  By default they end up on a further contract term on rates that are no longer competitive.  With a flexible energy basket, you have a different choice.

    Plan Ahead

    > Sign a framework only approach 12-months in advance of a contract renewal
    > Take advantage of market volatility
    > Make multiple energy purchasing decisions rather than just one
    > Avoid market highs and take advantage of market lows
    > Allows for a longer term view and better management

    Privacy Policy

    Select - 36-Month Optimum Framework

    All of our framework flexible energy basket agreements are based on 36-months as this gives us the optimum future view of the markets to make multiple incremental purchasing decisions for our clients.

    This way rather than committing to full energy requirements in one go, a framework is agreed but no energy or gas is purchased until the right opportunity presents itself.

    When we do purchase we don’t necessarily purchase in order, so we may buy some energy for year 3 first if the opportunity presents it self.  Buying some incremental amounts spreads the market risk with the aim of achieving an overall better average.

    In simple terms, for our flexible energy baskets we only buy what we like when we are avoiding market highs, until we have covered all requirements.

    Having the ability to forward view makes it easier to manage and we would look to add a further 12-months upon the contract anniversary date to maintain that long-term horizon view.

    Energy Hedging Strategies

    Energy Hedging is a risk management strategy that involves taking offsetting positions in future energy markets to reduce the impact of price fluctuations on an energy contract. In the case of future hedging, this typically involves the use of futures purchases to protect against price changes.

    A futures contract is a legally binding agreement to buy or sell a specific asset at a predetermined price on a future date. For example, a farmer might enter into a futures contract to sell a certain quantity of corn at a fixed price in six months’ time. This allows the farmer to lock in a price for their crop in advance, which helps to protect against potential price fluctuations between now and the time the corn is actually sold.

    Similarly, an energy trader might use futures contracts to hedge against price changes in a particular asset or market. For example, an energy trader holding a large portfolio, may decide to buy energy for a particular season, favouring that other seasons will trade lower at a later date.

    It’s important to note that while hedging can help to reduce the impact of price fluctuations on energy prices, it does not eliminate risk entirely.

    There are costs associated with using futures contracts, as there is no guarantee that energy prices move in a direction that is unfavourable to their position.

    As with any buying strategy, it’s important to carefully consider the risks and potential rewards before making a decision.

    Energy Hedging Strategies

    Select - Your Managed Risk Scale OptionChoose from Flex Fixed or Flex Agile

    For our flexible energy baskets, simply select the option that best supports your business needs and our consultants will take care of the rest. These are our 2 standard levels available and exclude our be-spoke solutions for sites greater than 60 GWh (Approximately £20 million per annum) or fixed price offers for sites less than 1GWh per annum.

    Strategy A - Flex Fixed

    This is the closest match to a fixed price alternative contract, where energy is purchased in advance of the delivery period commencing on an annual basis.

    Strategy B - Flex Agile

    More advanced approach is buying ahead of the delivery period commencing and throughout delivery window.

    Select - 100% Renewable EnergyAll of our products are guaranteed 100% Renewable Energy as standard

    Your Personalised Non-Commodity ReportNon-Commodity accounts for 60% of an energy contract, and all customers will receive a full non-commodity report detailing the true cost breakdown of these charges for future budget building.

    Select - Your Non-Commodity OptionSelect the option that works best for your business, but we would recommend option 2 as this provides the most flexibility for an dynamic market and provides the biggest benefit when looking at managing energy consumption.

    Strategy A - Flex Fixed

    This is the closest match to a fixed price alternative contract, where the non-commodity costs are locked out close to
    delivery commencing to minimise any risk premium, and then reset every year.

    Strategy B - Flex Agile

    More advanced approach is non-commodity costs at full pass through, removing any premiums that may be added by energy supplier.

    Select - Data Collection and Reporting

    Energy consumption data is mission critical in the success of these products.  Suppliers can’t bill you without it and we cant manage your purchasing requirements or set and track budgets or forecasts without it.

    Its a bit like having a watch with no hands on, it looks great, but its a bit pointless and it can’t do the job it was designed to do.

    That’s why we take care of the data requirements and ensure that we have continued access to your mission critical supply data.

    > Monthly energy consumption reports
    > You control your own data
    > Allows us to make better buying decisions
    > Identify energy saving measures
    > Reduce overall cost

    Select - Energy Spend Management Platform

    With the most advanced invoice validation solution available, our RPA powered energy spend management platform provides all your spend and consumption needs in one cloud based platform.  This is our key differentiator in the market as this provides unrivaled access to your energy data.

    This allows us to automate the collection of all invoices and supporting data, validate this in real time and provide powerful energy analytics for both spend and consumption reporting requirements.

    > Automated real time invoice validation
    > Budget setting and tracking management
    > Energy financial reporting
    > Powerful energy management tools
    > Robotic Process Automation for improved accuracy
    > Machine learning capability
    > 100% recovery to customer no share savings approach

    Risk Managed Portfolio Solution

    Energy Spend Management PlatformRPA Powered Invoice Validation and Energy Analytics.

    Select - Hedging Reports and Market Intelligence

    We keep you informed of your purchasing strategy with our energy purchasing hedging reports.  These detail your total 36-month contract volume requirements and show how your contract is performing against market activity.

    Any existing open positions are indicated along with closed positions and closed price positions.  We also provide an indicative future bench mark price so you always remain fully informed of the contract performance.

    You will also receive access to our energy market price reports so you get a better understanding of the key drivers influencing energy pricing.

    > Market position reports
    > Price benchmark performance
    > Open and closed positions
    > Energy market price tracker
    > Key market performance indicators

    Select - Award Winning Energy Consultants

    Your business energy needs are in safe hands with our Award winning team of energy consultants.  For over 2-decades we have helped organisations buy better, by educating and showing them smarter ways to purchase and manage energy.  With a focus on the development of cutting edge software solutions we are now able to transform our customers to a digital solution.

    Much more than just pricing experts we can help with all aspects of your energy management requirements.

    > Carbon reporting as standard
    > Access to fully funded renewable solutions
    > Advanced IIoT metering solutions
    > Consumption analysis and reporting
    > Water saving solutions
    > Energy compliance
    > Site surveys
    > Onsite generation
    > Energy controls

    REQUEST A CALL BACK.

    Would you like to speak to one of our energy advisers about our Flexible Energy Baskets over the phone? Just submit your details and we’ll be in touch shortly. You can also email us if you would prefer.

      I would like to discuss:

      Questions and Answers

      Do we need to decide when to buy?

      No we take care of all the buying decisions and decide when the most suitable time to buy is. We will always report back to you on what we have purchased and the acheived price.

      Can we still get a budget with a flexible energy contract?

      We will provide a budget at the start of the agreement and we will track the performance of the budget as the bills are received and validated in our energy spend management platform.

      What is the difference between a fixed and a flexible energy contract?

      With a fixed price energy contract you get one chance to buy the energy that’s needed for the contract term. But with a flexible energy contract you have the ability to make multiple purchasing decisions prior to the contract start date and even during the contract period. For larger be-spoke solutions you even have the option to sell back to the market as well as buying.