Free energy bill audit for schools and academy trusts
Energy is one of the few big costs a school can still do something about. Yet most schools only look at it when a contract comes up for renewal, and then only at the unit rate. The rest of the bill carries on from year to year, unchecked.
Our free energy bill audit for schools and academy trusts checks the whole bill: the price, the fixed charges, the tax and the way each supply is set up. Send one recent bill per supply and within five working days you get a short, plain-English summary of what is fine and what is worth fixing. No cost, no obligation and no site visit.
Why school energy bills go wrong
A school estate does not behave like an office, and the lines that go wrong on its bills are predictable:
Demand is seasonal and lumpy
Capacity set for a swimming pool, a kitchen or a winter peak is paid for all year, including the holidays.
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Estates grow by inheritance
A trust that has taken on schools, or a school that has added buildings, often has supplies on contracts nobody chose, some of them long lapsed onto out-of-contract rates.
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Nobody owns the bill
Finance pays it, estates uses the energy, and the detail sits between the two.
What we check
How the energy bill audit for schools works
- Send one bill per supply. A PDF or a clear photo of the latest electricity and gas invoice for each supply you want checked. For a trust, start with a few schools if that is easier.
- We check it. Fourteen checks on price, set-up, tax and billing, within five working days of the last bill arriving. We ask once if anything is missing.
- You decide. Read the summary, act on what you choose, and ask us to help only if you want to.
What you get back
A two-page PDF for your school or trust, not a report per meter. Every check is graded Fine, Worth a look or Act now. Likely savings are shown as a range in pounds a year, with the figures behind them and what would confirm them. It ends with the actions in date order, so it can go to your finance committee or trustees as it stands. A 20-minute call to walk through it is included if you want one.
What it costs
Nothing. The audit is free and there is no obligation. The summary gives you enough to act on each finding yourself. If you would rather we did it, the basis is shown above and agreed with you before we start: supplier commission for a new supply contract, a fixed fee for anything else. Nothing is sent to a supplier, and no change is made, without your written instruction. You can read how our fees work here.
Questions schools ask
Is this an energy audit of our buildings?
No. This is a desktop energy bill audit for schools: a check of what you pay, done from your bills. It does not look at how much energy the school uses or how to use less. If a finding points that way, for example a power factor problem or a demand peak, we say so and you can take it to whoever handles your buildings.
Do we need to sign a letter of authority?
Not for the audit. We work from the bills you send. A letter of authority is only needed if you later ask us to deal with a supplier or network operator on your behalf.
We are mid-contract. Is it still worth doing?
Yes. Capacity, tax and billing findings can usually be fixed mid-contract, and the price finding tells you where you stand before the renewal, when you still have time to do something about it.
What happens to our bills?
They are kept for twelve months and then deleted, unless you become a client. They are not shared with anyone.
We are a trust with many schools
Send one bill per supply for whichever schools you want checked. Many trusts start with two or three and widen it once they have seen a summary.
Will you try to sell us a contract?
The summary says what we would do next and how we would be paid, and then it is your call. Mindful Energy is an ethical energy brokerage. We run live auctions where suppliers bid against each other for your gas and electricity, delivering you the lowest price offered on the day. If the price finding says a tender is worth running, that is what we would offer.
Send us your bills
Email one recent bill for each electricity and gas supply to connect@mindfulenergy.co.uk, or book a short call first if you would rather talk it through.
References available on request
We do not publish testimonials or quotes attributed to named individuals. Our competitors read this page too, and the schools that trust us with their data are entitled to expect we will not trade on it.
We will be happy to put you in touch with bursars at comparable schools to speak to directly at the appropriate time.