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TEC Energy Frameworks & the Covid-19 Pandemic
TEC take a good deal of time and advice in establishing energy supply frameworks which minimise risk in a number of areas whilst taking advantage of our significant aggregated volume to achieve terms not made available to standalone energy users.
In the current circumstances our framework suppliers – EdF Energy (Electricity) and Corona Energy (Gas) have had early engagement around the impact of University energy usage and availability of staff during these difficult times.
With respect to contracted energy usage, many more standard (and often direct) arrangements for energy supplies will have volume tolerance conditions, with minimum usage often set at 80% or 90% of declared usage. This means that suppliers will be able to bill for 80% or 90% of energy usage even if consumption is below these levels under the principle known as “take-or-pay”. This is usually an annual tolerance although some contracts have it against expected monthly usage. TEC frameworks have no volume tolerance which means that any down-turn in usage will not be penalised.
Of course we can, and do, refresh our portfolio usage, usually on a 6 month basis, so if the present situation leads to a more sustained reduction in energy demand then we can accommodate it with a change in forecast usage. This is also reflected in our VIEW forecasting portal. If we have fully or partly bought forward energy to previous levels then we can simply “trade” our way out of the old position and re-set at the new levels. Similarly we will always limit forward purchases for longer dated periods to be able to adjust for changes in consumption as a result of changes on your estate. This may be a more extreme situation but is a perfect example of why we operate such a strategy.
Our suppliers also recognise that staff may not be available to carry out routine tasks such as the processing and payment of bills. To this end we have received assurance from EdF and Corona that should the processing of bills be delayed in any way, they will not apply late payment charges.
If any TEC members are concerned about their energy bills then please contact us via your Member Services Advisor. We’d also be happy to speak with Institutions who may not use our frameworks. We are generous with our time and expertise and as such will help them to understand our own beneficial framework terms or help interpret other energy supplier contract terms and any possible risks.
