Mastering Energy Procurement: A Smarter Approach for Property Managers

The energy market is anything but predictable right now. That means simply picking a supplier isn’t enough. Managing energy properly – across all your sites – needs a strategy that keeps costs down, residents happy, and you firmly in control.

As someone who’s worked closely with property managers across all sorts of developments, I’ve seen how easy it is for energy procurement to spiral. One day you’re renewing a couple of contracts. Next thing you know, you’re buried in spreadsheets, sitting on endless calls with suppliers and trying to untangle a billing error from six months ago.

The truth? Procurement shouldn’t be this complicated. But without the right setup, it often is. So let’s break down what works, what doesn’t, and how to make energy procurement something that works for you, not against you.

Why You Need a Strategy – Not Just a Supplier

Back in the day, procurement was about picking between a fixed or flex deal and choosing the cheapest rate. But now, there are so many more moving parts. If you’re not aligning contract end dates across your portfolio or tracking usage properly, you could be losing money without realising it.

We’ve worked with clients who were paying a decent rate but didn’t realise the contracts were all renewing at different times, which meant they couldn’t negotiate properly. Once we aligned the portfolio, the difference was night and day – fewer surprises, better pricing, and far less admin.

One thing we see over and over? Managers trying to stay on top of procurement solo. You might start off with good intentions and a clear spreadsheet, but over time it gets messy. Contracts slip through the cracks, a few invoices go unchecked, and suddenly there’s a hefty bill with a charge you weren’t expecting.

From incorrect VAT to the wrong kVA being applied, these aren’t rare one-offs. They’re common. And while none of them seem huge at the time, they pile up quickly. The cost isn’t just financial either – it’s hours of your week spent chasing suppliers, resolving disputes, and pulling together information from a dozen different places.

Unlocking the Benefits of Portfolio Procurement

One of the smartest ways to save is by treating multiple sites as a single, unified buying block.

When contracts across developments are aligned, property managers gain access to:

• Better pricing through aggregated demand
• Simplified tendering processes
• Streamlined admin and renewal cycles
• Greater supplier negotiation leverage

In one case, bundling contracts across just 10 blocks led to a 15% saving – all by unlocking volume-based discounts that individual sites couldn’t access alone.

Bill Validation: Your Unsung Hero

Here’s something we see time and again at Data Energy: one in three energy bills has a mistake. That’s not a stat from a report – it’s from our own validation process. And we’re not talking about tiny errors. We’ve uncovered duplicated bills, incorrect VAT, contract rates that were never applied… the list goes on.

This is why bill validation isn’t a nice-to-have. It’s essential. Catching these mistakes early prevents back-billing, avoids overpaying, and gives your clients and residents confidence that things are being handled properly. It’s one of the biggest opportunities for hidden savings – and it’s easy to overlook. 

Staying Compliant (Without the Headache)

Navigating regulation is no longer optional. Property managers now face a range of legal responsibilities that directly impact how energy is bought, managed, and charged. The risks of non-compliance aren’t theoretical – they’re real, and we’ve seen how quickly they can escalate when things are missed.

Key areas include:

• The Landlord & Tenant Act 1954

  This legislation places specific requirements around energy procurement, particularly in ensuring contracts are not excessively long and that competitive tendering is carried out transparently and fairly.

• The Utilities Act 2000 and Energy Act 2023

  Together, these acts restrict profit-making on energy resale and introduce much tighter rules around the accuracy of energy marketing and claims. If you’re passing on ‘green’ tariffs to residents, you must be able to back that up with credible documentation.

• VAT and Climate Change Levy (CCL)

  In mixed-use buildings where residential and commercial supplies intersect, getting the classification wrong can lead to overpaying tax or, worse, facing penalties during a VAT audit. Many property managers don’t realise the complexity here until it’s too late.

These aren’t box-ticking exercises. They affect how you recover costs, what you can legally charge and how transparent your billing processes must be. Getting it wrong could mean anything from tenant disputes and credit notes to full-blown audits, fines, or reputational damage.

The good news? With the right advice and systems in place, staying compliant doesn’t have to be difficult.

A Smarter Way Forward

The role of energy procurement has evolved. It’s no longer just about getting a quote once a year. It’s tied into compliance, cost control, operational efficiency, and resident satisfaction.

Getting it right means less firefighting, more confidence and real savings. It frees up time, reduces risk and ultimately makes your life as a property manager easier.

At Data Energy, we’ve helped countless property managers streamline procurement. From the first portfolio review through to validation, dispute resolution, and compliance checks, we’re with you every step of the way.

We centralise everything into one portal, align your contracts, and back it all up with a 33-point validation checklist that catches those costly errors before they land on your desk. You’ll get support with smart metering rollout, guidance on regulatory compliance, and a dedicated account manager who genuinely understands your portfolio.

In short: we make procurement clearer, simpler, and more strategic. And after everything I’ve seen in the industry, that’s exactly what more property managers deserve.

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