How to comply with energy procurement requirements in the Academy Trust Handbook

From October 2026, academy trusts are required to procure their electricity and gas supplies through DfE’s Energy for Schools service or a DfE approved energy deal. Alternative agreements of equivalent value for money are also permitted.

This requirement is published in the 2026 Academy Trust Handbook (ATH). It aims to maximise value for trusts by ensuring they carry out a value for money assessment before entering a new energy contract. As part of this assessment, trusts must compare their proposed supplier with the value available through Energy for Schools or a DfE approved energy deal.

This will apply when your energy contracts are renewed.

If you use an alternative energy deal

If trusts do not use DfE’s Energy for Schools service or a DfE approved energy deal they must be able to show that their alternative arrangement:

• is compliant with procurement requirements
• offers equal value for money

Complying with procurement requirements

In line with the Academy Trust Handbook, your energy deal must comply with either:

• the Public Contract Regulations 2015 (PCR 2015), or
• the Procurement Act 2023 (PA 23),

whichever is applicable. This includes financial thresholds. Any alternative deal must also demonstrate equal or better value for money.

Find out about financial thresholds and how to stay compliant when procuring.

Showing equal value for money

You must be able to show that your arrangement offers equal value for money compared with DfE Energy for Schools or a DfE approved Energy deal.

To do this, you should benchmark your deal against DfE’s Energy for Schools or DfE approved deals.

Benchmark against Energy for Schools by emailing the DfE energy services team and requesting the benchmarking service. We’ll provide a price comparison based on your actual energy bills from the last financial year.

You can also follow the steps in the ‘What to do next’ section below or get guidance from GOV.UK on estimating values.

When you’re benchmarking, bear in mind that DfE Energy for Schools is a variable priced agreement. That means we cannot confirm exact prices in advance of joining the service.

How will compliance be monitored?

Compliance with the ATH requirements will be monitored as a minimum through the School resource management self-assessment checklist (SRMSAC). Trusts must provide clear evidence of achieving equivalent value for money when justifying why they have used an alternative supplier other than DfE Energy for Schools or a DfE approved energy deal.

We monitor uptake to DfE Energy for Schools and DfE approved energy deals. DfE may also ask trusts and schools to provide additional information as and when required.

DfE will review this information ahead of the annual SRMSAC cycle and cross-reference it against trust spend and financial data. Trusts may be contacted to discuss their current and future plans for energy supply.

More detail on the evidence requirements for trusts can be found in the ‘What to do next’ section below.

Existing contracts

DfE does not expect any trust to exit an existing contract. We recommend you benchmark your prices against DfE’s Energy for Schools deal and/or DfE approved energy deals at least 12 months before your current contract comes to an end. This will provide you with greater choice and establish if you could achieve equivalent or better value for money.

How to join Energy for Schools

All state-funded schools and trusts in England can join Energy for Schools.

For queries about Energy for Schools or help joining, email the DfE energy services team.

What to do next

Trusts should plan their future energy requirements at least 12 months before their contracts end to get the widest choice of options. If trusts procure their energy through:

• DfE Energy for Schools, or
• another DfE-approved energy deal

they only need to identify which approved route was used rather than provide evidence of achieving equivalent value for money.

If trusts wish to use an alternative to DfE approved energy options, they should use available data to show the alternative offers the same or better value for money. For example, trusts could:

• assess suitability of DfE Energy for Schools or DfE approved deals
• obtain DfE benchmarking information
• benchmark DfE approved deals and alternative providers
• estimate their annual costs and consumption using their energy bills
• assess the overall value achievable for the trust by considering the following:
  • indicative pricing - consider the full annual cost and not only the unit rate (p/kwh)
  • contract terms including contract duration and end date
  • scope of services provided e.g. account management, bill validation, energy reporting
  • risk profile over the contract term
• confirm budget certainty
• confirm the outcome of the value for money assessment
• ensure compliance with procurement legislation or rules

Trusts should consider the benchmarking method that works best for their situation.

Where a trust has carried out a value for money assessment and confirmed that they have an equivalent or better value energy deal, they should hold an audit trail to:

• demonstrate that the arrangement offers equivalent or better value for money
• record the justification including any beneficial terms
• retain evidence supporting the decision including governance approvals
• explain the rationale through the compliance monitoring processes

How to show compliance

To demonstrate compliance, every energy procurement exercise which results in the trust contracting an energy supplier outside of DfE Energy for Schools or a DfE approved energy deal should produce:

1. Details of the trusts evaluation to compare their chosen route to market against one or more DfE approved energy deals.
2. Written evaluation of price, terms, service and risk.
3. Recommendation paper and record of local governance decision.
4. SRMSAC declaration and supporting evidence.