And understand what it means for your organisation when they’re triggered.
This week, senior leaders and professional buyers across the charity sector are discovering that the “fixed-price” energy contracts they thought they’d secured are being unlocked. Suppliers are reopening contracts and adding charges to cover government-imposed TNUoS and Nuclear RAB costs.
One school group with a £1 million annual energy spend is about to see an additional £113,000 on their bill. That’s not a rounding error. That’s a member of staff. That’s a programme that won’t run.
This isn’t supplier bad practice
Suppliers offer what you ask them for: the lowest price. When you demand the cheapest rate available, they deliver it on their own terms—terms that protect their margins when external factors shift. That’s how commercial contracts work.
Should suppliers carry your risk without being asked to or paid accordingly? Of course not. But here’s the problem: too many decision-makers don’t understand they’re accepting that risk in the first place.
Someone saw this coming
In the example above—not one of our customers—the decision-maker knew this could happen. We’d flagged it. They chose to ignore the risk.
What they didn’t do was calculate what it would cost if the risk materialised or brief their Board on the potential exposure. Senior executives are paid to protect their organisations from preventable harm, not to roll the dice and hope for the best.
Why this keeps happening
We see this pattern repeatedly, and it often comes down to overconfidence. Senior leaders believe they understand energy contracts better than they actually do. They dismiss expert warnings because they assume their judgment is sound.
The “better-than-average” bias is real. Leaders who wouldn’t dream of ignoring legal advice somehow feel comfortable ignoring energy procurement advice, often with devastating financial consequences.
What you need to do
First, be honest about your organisation’s risk appetite and put a number on it. Can you absorb an unexpected £50,000 hit? £100,000? More? Then check whether your current contracts could exceed that threshold if terms are triggered.
If the answer is yes, your Board needs to know. They can’t make informed decisions without understanding the exposure.
Second, ask your broker or supplier directly—and get it in writing: “Can our energy contracts be opened for any reason whatsoever?”
If they won’t answer in writing, that tells you everything. If they confirm contracts can be reopened, ask the follow-up: “What’s our maximum financial exposure if this happens?”
Finally, if you don’t have appetite for this risk, there is an alternative. Genuinely fixed contracts exist—with suppliers who explicitly state in their terms that contracts won’t be reopened under any circumstances. They cost more upfront because you’re paying the supplier to carry the risk instead of you.
The question you need to answer: is that premium worth avoiding a financial shock that could derail your budget and your plans?
This matters
I’m not writing this to score points. I’m writing it because I’m tired of watching good organisations get blindsided by preventable problems.
You work hard to secure funding and deliver services. You deserve energy arrangements that support that work, not undermine it. That means understanding what you’re signing, what could change, and what it might cost if it does.
Read the terms and conditions. Ask the difficult questions. Get the answers in writing. And make sure your Board understands the risk they’re accepting.
Because when that unexpected bill arrives, “I didn’t know” won’t protect your budget or your programmes.
Giles Hankinson
Chief Executive Officer, Utility Aid