Why do businesses use energy consultancies?

Businesses use energy consultancies to gain specialist support with energy procurement, contract management, market risk, utility data and cost control. An energy consultancy like ours can help organisations understand their energy position, manage complex supplier arrangements and make more informed long-term decisions.

What does a business energy consultancy do?

A business energy consultancy can support organisations with electricity and gas procurement, energy price risk management, invoice validation, utility reporting, supplier query management, energy monitoring, water management and decarbonisation planning. The level of support will depend on the organisation’s estate, energy consumption and operational requirements.

Can an energy consultancy help businesses manage energy price risk?

Yes. An energy consultancy can help a business assess its exposure to wholesale energy markets and develop a purchasing strategy that reflects its budget requirements, operational priorities and appetite for risk. This may include fixed, flexible or blended procurement approaches.

How can an energy consultancy support multi-site organisations?

Multi-site organisations often manage numerous meters, contracts, suppliers, invoices and renewal dates. An energy consultancy can help centralise this information, improve portfolio visibility, identify account discrepancies and provide consistent reporting across the organisation’s estate.

Can an energy consultancy help identify incorrect utility charges?

Energy consultancies can review utility invoices for potential errors, unexpected charges, incorrect meter information and inconsistencies between contracted rates and supplier billing. Where issues are identified, the consultancy may also support the organisation in raising and managing supplier queries.

What is energy monitoring, and why is it important?

Energy monitoring involves collecting and analysing consumption data to understand how and when energy is being used. This can help organisations identify unusual usage, compare site performance, investigate potential waste and make more informed operational and sustainability decisions.

Can an energy consultancy help with carbon-reduction and sustainability targets?

An energy consultancy can support organisations by improving energy data visibility, identifying areas of high consumption and exploring options such as renewable energy procurement, commercial solar, battery storage and energy-efficiency projects. Recommendations should be based on the organisation’s sites, data and wider sustainability strategy.

How does an energy consultancy support budget certainty?

Energy consultancies can support budgeting by providing market insight, procurement planning, consumption analysis and utility cost forecasting. While future energy prices cannot be guaranteed, a structured strategy can help organisations better understand potential exposure and plan for different market conditions.

What information does an energy consultancy need from a business?

The consultancy may require information such as recent utility invoices, contract details, meter data, site lists, consumption information and details of current operational or sustainability priorities. This information helps the consultancy understand the organisation’s existing position and identify appropriate next steps.

How should a business choose an energy consultancy?

Businesses should consider the consultancy’s experience, service capabilities, market knowledge, reporting processes, approach to risk management and ability to support complex portfolios. It is also important to understand how the consultancy is paid, what is included within the service and how performance and outcomes will be communicated.

Smarter Energy Starts Here

Strategic Energy Procurement, Risk Management and Cost Control

Smarter Energy for Growing Businesses

With a diverse and expanding portfolio of sites, the business requires an energy strategy that can respond to changing project timelines, evolving demand and the practical requirements of bringing new developments online.

Smarta Energy was appointed to support Caddick Construction with a structured approach to energy procurement, cost control and infrastructure management.

Caddick Construction is a well-established, family-owned construction group with more than 45 years of experience delivering high-value, complex projects across the UK. With expertise spanning construction, civil engineering and façade delivery, the business works across a broad range of sectors including industrial and logistics, residential, education, healthcare, commercial and leisure. Caddick has grown from its Yorkshire roots into a nationally recognised contractor, with offices across the North, Midlands and North East, and a strong track record built on reliability, technical capability and long-term client relationships. The Group reported £375 million turnover for 2024/25 and a £1.4 billion forward order book, reflecting the scale and strength of its current pipeline.

The partnership focuses on five key areas:

Procurement and risk management
Commodity cost reduction
New connections and metering infrastructure
Renewable energy opportunities
Ongoing bureau and bill validation services

The objective is to give Caddick Construction greater control over energy costs while maintaining the flexibility required across a project-based operating environment.

Construction businesses face a very different energy profile to many traditional commercial organisations.

Sites can open, expand and complete at different times. Consumption can change significantly as projects progress, and energy contracts need to reflect the realities of individual project timelines.

For Caddick Construction, this created a need for an energy strategy that could:

Reduce exposure to volatile wholesale energy markets
Secure competitive electricity and gas contracts
Maintain flexibility around project completion dates
Coordinate new connections and metering efficiently
Improve visibility and control across energy billing
Identify opportunities to support wider sustainability objectives

Smarta Energy’s role has been to bring these areas together through a coordinated energy management approach.

Managing Market Exposure Without Losing Flexibility

Energy markets can be volatile, while construction sites often operate with changing demand profiles and defined project timelines. Smarta Energy implemented a structured procurement approach designed to reduce unnecessary exposure to market movements while ensuring Caddick Construction retains the flexibility required across its portfolio.

This includes:

Monitoring wholesale market movements and advising on appropriate procurement windows
Creating procurement frameworks that align contract lengths with project timelines
Structuring contracts to help avoid unnecessary termination fees when projects complete
Identifying opportunities to secure favourable commodity rates during market dips

By actively managing procurement timing and supplier engagement, Smarta Energy has helped Caddick Construction minimise exposure to market volatility while maintaining the flexibility required for project-based energy demand.

Creating Greater Commercial Value Across the Portfolio

The approach includes:

Competitive supplier tendering across multiple energy suppliers
Leveraging industry relationships to access preferential pricing
Identifying opportunities to secure discounts on the commodity element of electricity and gas contracts
Reviewing legacy contracts and renegotiating improved commercial terms where possible

This approach has enabled Caddick Construction to benefit from reduced commodity costs while maintaining reliable energy supply across multiple live developments.

Supporting Faster Site Mobilisation

Construction sites frequently require the rapid mobilisation of temporary and permanent electricity supplies. Delays to connections, metering or energisation can create operational challenges and affect project timelines. Smarta Energy supports Caddick Construction by coordinating and managing new electrical infrastructure requirements across its developments.

Services delivered include:

Managing new electricity supply applications with Distribution Network Operators
Coordinating meter installations and Meter Operator appointments
Ensuring Half-Hourly metering requirements are implemented where applicable
Managing timelines between developers, contractors and network operators

This support helps ensure new developments are energised efficiently, reducing the risk of avoidable delays and helping sites remain operational when required.

Greater Certainty for Project Budgets

For projects where greater cost certainty is required, Smarta Energy has implemented fixed-price procurement strategies. This approach helps Caddick Construction plan energy expenditure with greater confidence across defined construction phases.

Benefits include:

Protection against sudden wholesale market price increases
Greater accuracy when budgeting for construction phases
More predictable energy costs across site operations

By securing competitive fixed rates at appropriate points in the market cycle, Caddick Construction can manage project energy costs with greater certainty.

Exploring Longer-Term Energy Value

Sustainability is becoming an increasingly important consideration across the construction sector.

Alongside procurement and cost management, Smarta Energy supports Caddick Construction in identifying opportunities for renewable energy integration across suitable developments.

This includes:

Assessing the feasibility of solar photovoltaic installations
Evaluating potential savings from on-site renewable generation
Identifying opportunities to reduce long-term operational energy costs
Supporting wider sustainability and ESG objectives

Where appropriate, solar generation can help reduce reliance on grid electricity while improving the environmental performance of completed developments.

Maintaining Control After the Contract Is Signed

Energy management does not stop once a supply contract has been agreed.

Smarta Energy provides ongoing bureau services to help Caddick Construction maintain control over billing and energy costs across its portfolio.

Key services include:

Invoice validation and bill checking
Identification of billing errors and incorrect charges
Challenging suppliers where discrepancies arise
Consumption monitoring and reporting

By reviewing invoices and challenging suppliers where required, Smarta Energy helps ensure Caddick Construction only pays for the energy it uses and reduces the risk of unnecessary charges going unnoticed.

Outcomes and Value Delivered

One Joined-Up Approach to Energy Management. Through its partnership with Smarta Energy, Caddick Construction benefits from a more structured and coordinated approach to energy management across its portfolio.

Reduced exposure to energy market volatility

Competitive energy procurement and discounted commodity rates

Greater cost certainty where fixed-price strategies are appropriate

Efficient mobilisation of new electricity supplies and metering infrastructure

Opportunities to integrate renewable energy technologies

Ongoing cost control through professional bureau and bill validation services

Partnership Focus

The partnership allows Caddick Construction to focus on delivering its projects while Smarta Energy manages the complexities of energy procurement, infrastructure, billing and cost optimisation.

Supporting Complex, Project-Based Energy Requirements

Caddick Construction’s requirements demonstrate the importance of an energy strategy that can adapt to changing projects, sites and commercial priorities.

By combining procurement, risk management, infrastructure support, renewable opportunities and ongoing bureau services, Smarta Energy provides a joined-up approach designed around the practical requirements of a major construction business.

Smarta Energy has been a game-changer for Caddick Construction. Since partnering with them, we have saved Thousands across the contract term on our energy estate, thanks to their strategic approach to procurement and cost management. They have completely streamlined our meter installation process, ensuring efficiency and reliability at every stage.

Gavyn Lightowler has been instrumental in delivering a seamless, proactive service, securing 100% green energy for us at a cheaper rate than our previous supplier, who was not fully renewable. This has been a significant step forward in aligning with our sustainability goals. Additionally, his expertise has been invaluable in assisting us with our SECR reporting, ensuring compliance and optimising our carbon strategy.

We highly recommend Smarta Energy to any business looking for a trusted partner in energy procurement and sustainability.

Reece Franks

Caddick Construction

Frequently asked questions

Energy Consultancy Questions