For many Australian businesses, energy is one of the largest controllable operating costs yet it’s rarely managed like one.
Electricity and gas contracts are often renewed under time pressure, with limited analysis and little competitive tension. The outcome is predictable: contracts that don’t reflect how energy is actually used, unnecessary risk built into pricing, and costs that quietly compound year after year.
Most businesses don’t overpay because they’re careless. They overpay because the energy market is built on misaligned incentives.
Why energy costs quietly drift higher
Energy is treated as an admin task
Traditional energy brokers and retailers work off commission models, which mean brokers and retailers are incentivised to give you pricing with the biggest commission, not the one that is genuinely best for you business. Before our saving split model was invented, it was almost impossible to compare every price and manage energy procurement in a trusted, automated way.
Decisions are made without usage data
Many businesses sign contracts without analysing interval data.
Without visibility into when energy is consumed or how peaks occur, it’s impossible to select the right tariff structure. A competitive headline rate can easily become costly if it doesn’t align with actual operating patterns.
Market timing is ignored
Energy prices fluctuate constantly. Yet most contracts are signed simply because the current one is expiring.
This removes any ability to manage price risk. Businesses are forced to accept prevailing market conditions even when they’re unfavourable because there’s no forward planning in place.
Little to no buying power
Retailers sharpen pricing when they know a customer is informed and has alternatives. Without a structured process, that leverage disappears.
Single-retailer negotiations limit transparency and reduce the likelihood of optimal pricing or terms.
How energy procurement changes the outcome
Energy procurement applies discipline to a cost category that is often left unmanaged.
Start with how energy is actually used
Procurement begins with interval data and load profile analysis. This allows contracts to be structured around real usage patterns, demand drivers and operational constraints not assumptions.
Introduce competition
By taking a clear brief to multiple retailers simultaneously, procurement creates competitive tension. This improves pricing, reveals structural differences between offers and forces greater transparency. While traditional energy brokers can only compare rates that pay commission, a saving split model that Termina uses enable you to compare every single rate on the market, and push more competitive forces.
Align contracts to risk appetite
Not all businesses should be on the same contract type. Procurement allows organisations to choose between fixed, flexible or blended structures based on their risk tolerance and cost objectives rather than defaulting to retailer preference.
Plan ahead, don’t react
With procurement, contracts are approached strategically. Markets are monitored, timing is considered, and decisions are made proactively instead of under expiry pressure.
Even small improvements in timing can materially affect long-term energy costs.
Create ongoing cost governance
Procurement isn’t a one-off exercise. It establishes visibility, accountability and audit-ready data that prevents cost creep and supports better financial control over time.
The takeaway
Most businesses overpay for energy because it’s bought without structure.
When energy is treated like any other strategic input using data, competition and risk management costs become predictable, defensible and often materially lower.
Energy stops being a passive overhead and becomes a managed decision.
