Most Australian businesses eventually reach the same point. Energy bills keep rising, contracts auto-renew without review, and nobody internally has the time or market knowledge to fix it. The obvious answer is to bring in an energy procurement consultant.
But before you do, it is worth understanding exactly how these consultants operate because the way they get paid has a direct impact on the advice they give you.
What is an energy procurement consultant?
An energy procurement consultant is a specialist who helps businesses manage the process of buying electricity and gas. Their role typically includes reviewing your current contracts, going to market to compare retailer offers, negotiating on your behalf, and recommending a plan.
On paper, that sounds straightforward. In practice, there is more to it.
How are energy procurement consultants paid?
This is the question most businesses forget to ask and it is the most important one.
There are three common payment models:
Commission from retailers. The consultant is paid a fee by the retailer when you sign a contract. That fee is embedded in your energy rate, which means you are paying it whether you know it or not. The consultant earns more when your rate is higher, which creates an obvious conflict of interest.
Flat fee. The consultant charges you directly for their time. This removes the commission conflict, but flat-fee consultants are typically expensive and often conduct a one-off review rather than ongoing management. If energy prices shift six months after your contract is signed, you are on your own.
Savings-based. A portion of the savings found is paid to the consultant. This aligns their incentive with your outcome, they only benefit when your costs go down.
Understanding which model your consultant uses tells you a lot about what kind of advice you are likely to receive.
What do energy procurement consultants actually do?
A thorough energy procurement consultant will typically:
- Review your current electricity and gas contracts and identify where you are overpaying
- Analyse your load profile and usage patterns to determine the right tariff structure
- Go to market and obtain competitive offers from multiple retailers
- Negotiate contract terms on your behalf
- Recommend the best option based on your usage, not just the headline rate
The challenge is that most traditional consultants do this once at contract renewal and then move on. Between renewals, your rates can become uncompetitive, wholesale prices may shift significantly, and your business may change. Without ongoing monitoring, those savings erode.
The problem with the traditional consulting model
The Australian energy market moves monthly, not annually. Wholesale prices, network charges, and retailer offers all fluctuate constantly. A contract that represented market-best pricing in January may be uncompetitive by July.
Traditional energy procurement consultants are not set up to respond to that reality. Their model is built around periodic reviews and contract cycles, which means most of the time your energy costs are unmanaged.
For businesses operating across multiple sites, this problem compounds. Managing procurement manually across 10 or 50 locations is not something a consultant can do cost-effectively on a retainer which is why most do not.
What to look for when choosing an energy procurement consultant
If you are evaluating consultants, these are the questions that matter:
- How are you paid by retailers or by me?
- Do you compare the full market, including smaller retailers and wholesale-informed options?
- How do you manage my contracts after signing?
- Do you provide ongoing monitoring or just a one-off review?
- What is your process for multi-site businesses?
A consultant who cannot answer these clearly is probably commission-based and working from a limited retailer panel.
Consultants, companies, specialists: does the label matter?
You will see the same service sold under different names: energy procurement companies, energy procurement specialists, energy procurement experts, energy advisers. The label matters far less than the payment model. An energy procurement company paid by retailers carries the same conflict as a solo consultant paid by retailers, just at a larger scale. Whatever the title, ask who signs their cheque, and ask them to show the maths.
Three questions a commission-paid consultant struggles to answer
- "30% discount" off what? A fixed discount on a variable base rate the retailer can change at any time is not a fixed price. Ask for the all-in price, not the discount.
- Does the discount have conditions? Pay-on-time discounts and benefit periods that quietly expire are where headline savings go to die.
- What happens after I sign? A one-off quote leaves you unmanaged the day after. Ask who is watching your rate in month seven, and what their incentive is to move you if something cheaper appears.
Is there a better alternative to traditional energy procurement consulting?
For most Australian businesses particularly those with multiple sites automated energy procurement is a more effective long-term solution than a traditional consultant.
Termina is a commission-free energy procurement platform that monitors the market every month across every meter. Rather than a one-off review at contract renewal, Termina continuously compares rates, leverages group buying power across thousands of business meters, and switches when savings are available.
Because Termina is paid a portion of the savings it finds, not commissions from retailers, the incentive is always to find the lowest possible rate.
There are no lock-in contracts, no exit fees, and no hidden commissions. The platform handles the comparison, negotiation, and switching automatically, so your energy procurement runs in the background without requiring internal resources.
You can see exactly how the model works, including the split shown in the open and the monthly review, in our full guide to commercial energy procurement.
If your business spends more than $1,500 a month on electricity, the savings potential is likely significant. Get a free estimate here.
