Why Energy Monitoring Matters in Procurement

Energy monitoring is the process of collecting and analysing real-time data on how your business uses electricity and gas. When paired with procurement, it becomes a powerful tool for reducing costs, cutting waste, and gaining an edge in energy contract negotiations.

At Tritility, we view energy monitoring not as an add-on, but as a core driver of a successful procurement strategy. Without accurate insight into your usage, you risk inefficiencies, missed savings, and contracts that don’t reflect how your business actually operates.

Here’s how integrating monitoring with procurement can lower costs, improve performance, and support long-term sustainability targets.

1. Understand When and Where You Use Energy

Not all energy usage is the same. Some businesses peak during daylight hours, others operate through the night. Usage might be driven by production lines, climate control, or office equipment.

With an energy monitoring platform, especially one that offers circuit-level visibility, you can see exactly where, when, and how energy is being consumed.

This helps you:

• Uncover high-usage periods or equipment
• Align usage with the right contract type or pricing structure
• Understand how operations affect overall spend

This insight gives you a far stronger position when reviewing contracts.

2. Choose the Right Contract Type

Choosing between fixed, flex, or time-of-use contracts should be based on how your business actually consumes energy, not guesswork or outdated bills.

With energy monitoring, you can:

• Avoid overcommitting to inflexible rates
• Match peak demand to the right tariff model
• Identify whether long-term or short-term deals will offer better value

When your contract reflects your operational needs, you reduce risk and increase savings.

3. Eliminate Waste to Strengthen Your Position

Energy monitoring helps you pinpoint where energy is being used unnecessarily, especially when supported by circuit-level or out-of-hours analysis.

You can identify:

• Equipment or machinery left running after hours
• Inefficient lighting or production systems
• HVAC usage that doesn’t align with building occupancy or scheduling

By reducing this avoidable consumption, you lower your baseline demand, making your overall usage more predictable, efficient, and potentially more cost-effective to supply. This can support stronger procurement outcomes, particularly on flex contracts or when negotiating bespoke terms.

4. Improve Your Timing in a Volatile Market

In a fast-moving energy market, when you procure is just as important as what you procure.

While energy monitoring doesn’t predict market prices, it does ensure your consumption data is always up to date, so you’re ready to act when the market does shift.

Same-day usage data allows you to:

• Be contract-ready when tender windows open
• Avoid relying on outdated bill estimates that misrepresent current demand
• Build accurate volume forecasts, which suppliers use to model pricing
• Avoid peak DUoS (Distribution Use of System) charges by adjusting usage at key times

By staying informed and proactive, you avoid reactive, last-minute decisions and gain control over your energy buying timeline.

5. Enable Continuous Value After You Procure

Monitoring isn’t just for the pre-contract phase. Once your new deal is live, your platform becomes a tool for ongoing insights.

With Energy Metrics, for example, Tritility helps you:

• Track how your new contract is performing
• Spot operational changes that impact usage
• Plan improvements ahead of your next renewal cycle

This creates a feedback loop, one where each contract is smarter than the last.

Real Results: How We Helped Swire Energy Save £300,000 Annually

When Swire partnered with Tritility, they used our Energy Metrics tool to uncover inefficiencies and align their procurement strategy with their true usage profile. The result? £300,000 in annual savings.

This success was only possible through the combination of accurate data and expert procurement support.

Summary: How Energy Monitoring Supports Procurement

Here’s why monitoring plays crucial role to your procurement strategy:

• Gives you accurate, usage data
• Matches contract types to actual business demand
• Helps eliminate waste and boost supplier appeal
• Enables proactive market timing
• Supports long-term optimisation and sustainability

In short: energy monitoring empowers smarter decisions before, during, and after procurement.

Start with a Free Demo of Energy Metrics

Our Energy Metrics platform offers clear energy insights, from same-day usage reports to site-level and circuit-level data. Combined with Tritility’s expert procurement team, you get a joined-up solution that saves you time and money.

Book your free demo today and take the first step toward smarter, more strategic energy procurement.