The short answer
Bundle the load profile across all sites before going to market.
Commercial energy procurement is a discipline of standardising the load profile, scoring offers apples-to-apples, and avoiding the silent rollover at end of term. For a single-site SMB the math runs $4,500–$6,500 in monthly bills; for a Class-A office or a multi-site retail portfolio it can run $25,000–$60,000+ per month. This guide walks through the four-stage RFP funnel that consistently wins the best price across deregulated US markets, the contract clauses that matter, and the scoring framework that bakes commission disclosure into the rate comparison.
Stage 1 — bundling the load profile across all sites
Before going to market, standardise the load profile across all sites in the bundle: kWh per month, kW peak, contract end-dates, current supplier, current rate, and any rate-affecting clauses (TOU, demand response, capacity tag).
A clean bundle gets better pricing because it reduces the supplier's acquisition cost. A messy bundle (mixed end-dates, mixed rate types, missing data) gets penalised in pricing because the supplier has to add risk margin.
For multi-state portfolios, the bundle is by state — most state PUC license boundaries do not allow a single contract to cover multiple states. Bundles can still be coordinated to expire in the same month.
Infographic
Multi-site bundle — 8 sites converging into 1 contract
Stage 2 — invite 9 suppliers, expect 5 priced offers
Invite 9 PUC-licensed suppliers per market. Of those, 5 typically come back with priced offers; the other 4 either pass on the bundle (load profile not a fit) or do not respond inside the window.
The 9 invited list should mix tier-1 nationals (Constellation, NRG, Direct Energy) with regional specialists who know the specific utility tariff. Tier-1 nationals price aggressively on volume; regional specialists know the delivery-side details that affect the supply-side hedge.
Each priced offer arrives with: locked rate (¢/kWh), term length, contract clauses (early termination, swing tolerance, banking, etc.), and commission disclosure (in $ and basis points).
Stage 3 — score 2 finalists apples-to-apples
From the 5 priced offers, pick 2 finalists based on locked rate. Then run a second-pass apples-to-apples comparison that bakes the commission into the rate. A 12.6¢ offer with a 0.4¢ commission is structurally a 13.0¢ effective rate; a 12.8¢ offer with a 0.2¢ commission is a 13.0¢ effective rate.
The contract-clause comparison matters as much as the rate. Swing tolerance (the +/- band on monthly volume before the supplier penalises), banking (the ability to roll unused volume), and force-majeure clauses can all affect the effective cost over the term.
The 2 finalists also get a final negotiation pass. Suppliers expect this and will move 0.1–0.3¢ on the rate or relax a clause to win the lock.
Stage 4 — lock the supplier, then watch the renewal
E-sign the supplier authorisation, transmit to the utility via EDI 814, and stamp the contract end-date into the re-shop calendar.
The lock is the start of the deal, not the end. The renewal-watch clock begins the day the contract starts. Sixty to 90 days before expiry, the next-term comparison runs automatically.
- Bundle the load profile across all sites first.
- Invite 9 PUC-licensed suppliers per market; expect 5 priced offers.
- Score 2 finalists apples-to-apples on locked rate + clauses + commission.
- Lock the winner. Stamp the end-date. Watch the renewal.
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