Electricity and natural gas procurement
We run competitive supply RFPs for every eligible account in every deregulated market you operate in, time them with monthly market data, and track each contract to renewal so nothing rolls over by accident.
Energy procurement is the competitive purchase of electricity and natural gas supply from retail suppliers, in markets where customers are allowed to choose. Discovery Energy Utility Audits runs procurement for multi-site commercial and industrial organizations: it inventories every contract, times each purchase with its monthly Energy Risk Report, issues one RFP on identical terms to the supplier field, shows every offer side by side by structure, and tracks signed contracts in TaraBase through to renewal.
01 / 07
What procurement covers, and what it does not
Every commercial energy bill has two halves. Supply is the electricity or gas itself. Delivery is the utility's wires or pipes, meters, customer charges and riders, set by a tariff its regulator approves. Procurement changes only the supply half. Whoever supplies the energy, the local utility still delivers it and charges for that service, as the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) explains.
Supply choice is also limited by geography. EIA reports that 19 states and the District of Columbia allow at least some commercial and industrial customers to buy electricity from competitive retail marketers, and that in the ERCOT region of Texas, customers of investor-owned utilities must choose a retail provider. For natural gas, EIA notes that large commercial and industrial customers have been able to buy gas separately from delivery for many years, usually under a utility's transportation service. Elsewhere, the utility's tariff sets the price, and the lever is an audit of how it is applied.
The problem it solves
Most multi-site companies buy energy site by site, on whatever date each contract expires, from whichever supplier sent the renewal notice. The result is predictable:
- Contracts that expire unnoticed and roll onto month-to-month or default pricing.
- Offers that cannot be compared because each supplier quoted a different product, term or set of pass-through charges.
- Purchases timed by the expiry date rather than by the market.
- Whole states left untouched because the broker who handles procurement is not licensed there.
That last point is regulatory. Pennsylvania licenses brokers and marketers as electric generation suppliers, Texas requires anyone providing brokerage services for compensation to register with the Public Utility Commission, and Ohio requires power brokers and aggregators to be certified by its commission. A provider's licensing footprint caps how much of your portfolio it can reach.
02 / 07
Who it is for
Procurement is built for organizations with sites in more than one market, typically from about 10 to more than 1,000 utility accounts. It fits best when:
- Sites span several states or provinces, with a mix of regulated and deregulated markets.
- Finance needs a budget number it can defend, and wants to know which charges a "fixed" price actually fixes.
- Plants or facilities qualify for natural gas transportation service but may not be set up for it.
In regulated markets, rate and tariff review still applies, through a utility bill audit.
03 / 07
What is included
Each engagement covers the full cycle, from the contract inventory to the next renewal.
Every supplier invited
Not just the familiar names. A wider field produces sharper bids on every renewal.
Like-for-like bids
Each RFP is structured so bids compare directly: same product, same terms, no hidden pass-throughs. We draft, distribute and manage the bid process and all supplier questions.
Offers shown by structure
Every offer is put on the same terms and shown side by side in each structure that fits the site: fixed, fixed with pass-throughs, index, block and index, layered buying, or NYMEX and basis for gas. The client decides.
Market timing
When you contract matters more than any other variable. Our monthly Energy Risk Report, with buy or wait calls on 3-year forwards, sets the window.
Hedging analysis
How much energy to lock in at a fixed price, how much to leave floating, and why.
Your whole footprint
One team and one process across every state and province, so sites outside a broker's license are not left on default service.
Gas set-up review
A check of how each site buys gas, including whether sites that qualify for transport service are actually set up for it.
Contract tracking
Supplier, term, rate, billing type and expiration for every contract, held in TaraBase, with renewals flagged well in advance.
Contract structures we compare
| Structure | What is fixed | Fits best |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed price | The supply price for the term | Tight budgets and predictable load |
| Fixed with pass-throughs | The energy price; named charges billed at cost | Buyers who would rather not pay a supplier to carry charges they can manage |
| Index | The supplier's adder only | Flexible budgets, or load that can move away from high-price hours |
| Block and index | A block of energy, usually baseload | Steady baseload with a variable top |
| Layered buying | Each layer, at the price on the day it was bought | Large loads with a long planning horizon |
| Natural gas: NYMEX and basis | The NYMEX price, the basis, or both | Gas buyers who want to lock the two parts at different times |
04 / 07
How an engagement runs
Portfolio review
Inventory of contracts, expirations and rate structures at every site. You sign a letter of authorization (LOA) so usage history can be requested from each utility.
Market analysis
Current conditions and the best window to go to bid, drawn from the same monthly data in the Energy Risk Report.
RFP
We draft, distribute and manage the bid process and all supplier questions, with every supplier quoting the same requirements.
Recommendation
Like-for-like analysis with every price component and savings against baseline shown, in each structure that fits the site.
Execution and tracking
Contracts loaded into TaraBase; renewals flagged well in advance. No supplier is switched and no contract signed without your written approval.
What you receive
- A complete contract and expiration inventory across every site.
- A side-by-side bid analysis showing each price component, the structure and the savings against the agreed baseline.
- A TaraBase contracts dashboard with renewal dates, so the next purchase starts before the current one ends.
05 / 07
A fixed price does not fix every charge
Capacity, transmission and some ancillary charges can pass through a "fixed" contract. In PJM, capacity clearing prices rose from $28.92 per MW-day for 2024/25 to $329.17 for 2026/27, and the 2027/28 auction cleared at $333.44. Switching suppliers does not remove that cost. Read the contract structure as carefully as the price, and see how charges are split by market.
Why PJM capacity is rewriting industrial budgets
How procurement fits with the other services
Procurement sets what the energy costs. It does not test whether the delivery half was billed correctly, which is why we recommend an audit first: if a site is misclassified, that error becomes part of the baseline you buy against. See utility bill audit vs energy procurement.
The same account inventory also supports utility bill pay, TaraBase reporting and multi-site energy management. Each service can be engaged on its own, and an audit never requires procurement.
How procurement is priced
Either a fixed monthly fee you pay, or a commission built into the winning supplier's price. The choice is yours, and either way the compensation is disclosed before any contract is signed. Utilities never pay us. Audit fees are separate and contingency-based. See pricing and independence and compensation.
06 / 07
Results from procurement work
A fast-growing renewable natural gas producer bought energy site by site, with no standard way to compare offers or judge risk. Discovery reviewed how each site buys gas and power and ran formal RFPs alongside a full audit.
Read the RNG producer case study.
At a 103-facility industrial services provider, the previous broker was licensed in two states. Costs fell in those two states, and the rest of the portfolio was never evaluated. Once every eligible account was reviewed, procurement savings extended well beyond those two states. Read what changed across 103 facilities.
Markets move, so past results do not predict future prices.
07 / 07
Questions buyers ask
Which markets do you buy in?
All deregulated electricity and natural gas markets in the United States, including the PJM, ERCOT, MISO, NYISO, ISO-NE and SPP regions and state retail-choice markets such as Ohio, Illinois, Pennsylvania, New York and Texas. Competitive procurement applies only where a state or province allows supplier choice.
How does market timing improve price?
Natural gas prices can swing 40% to 60% or more in a single year. EIA's monthly Henry Hub averages ran from $1.49 to $3.18 per MMBtu in 2024 and from $4.38 to $8.81 in 2022. Our monthly data lets you act on favorable windows rather than on a contract's expiry date.
Do you guarantee savings against our current rate?
No. Markets are outside anyone's control. We guarantee the process: full supplier participation, like-for-like bids, transparent pricing components and data-driven timing.
How are you paid for procurement?
Either a fixed monthly fee you pay, or a commission paid by the winning supplier. Either way, you see how we are paid, before any contract is signed.
Should bills be audited before a contract renewal?
Yes. If a site is on the wrong rate class or misclassified, that error becomes part of the baseline you buy against. An audit first gives a verified usage and cost baseline.
Do we have to replace our current broker?
No. Many clients keep an incumbent for procurement and use Discovery for tariff-level validation. An audit-only scope can exclude procurement entirely.
Sources
- US EIA, Can customers choose their electricity supplier?, delivery charged by the utility; ERCOT customers must choose a provider.
- US EIA, Today in Energy, Participation in electricity customer choice programs has remained unchanged since 2013 (November 1, 2019), 19 states and DC allowing some commercial and industrial customers to choose.
- US EIA, Natural gas customer choice programs, large commercial and industrial consumers buying gas separately.
- Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, Electric Generation Supplier application resources, broker licensing.
- Public Utility Commission of Texas, Broker registration and reporting, broker registration (16 TAC §25.112).
- Ohio Administrative Code, Chapter 4901:1-24, broker and aggregator certification.
- PJM, 2026/2027 Base Residual Auction Report, RTO capacity prices of $28.92 per MW-day for 2024/25 and $329.17 for 2026/27.
- PJM, Review of 2027/2028 Base Residual Auction results, RTO price of $333.44 per MW-day for 2027/28.
- US EIA, Henry Hub natural gas spot price, monthly, monthly averages of $1.49 to $3.18 per MMBtu in 2024 and $4.38 to $8.81 in 2022.
Find out what your bills should have cost.
Send one recent bill per site, or a list of accounts. We tell you where we expect findings before you sign anything. No upfront audit fee.