How we saved this school $200,000 on their electricity bills

radford College 

Rising costs for businesses are contributing to the cost-of-living crisis felt by many at the moment, and the cost of education is no different.  After presenting at a recent Business Managers Forum run by the Association of Independent Schools of NSW (AISNSW) we heard from various presenters about how increasing costs of education, increasing salary costs and keeping school fees down were ranked in the top 10 challenges facing schools at the moment. 

After hearing Spinifex Energy’s presentation Agnes, the Director of Finance for Radford College, made contact asking if we could help with trying to optimise their cost of energy and assist with management of their procurement process.

Radford College is a thriving independent school dedicated to educating and supporting students to become compassionate, adaptable, global citizens.

The results of our work produced $200,000 in savings on their electricity supply contracts over a 2-year contract, locking in electricity supply to the end of 2027.

The challenge

Radford College, like many Australian schools at present, are experiencing rising costs of education brought on by higher salaries and higher input costs and operating expenses.

In light of the current cost-of-living crisis, Radford College has been shining a light on their various cost centres to ensure they are operating as efficiently as possible to keep school fees as low for their current and future students.

The school currently has more than 2,170 students enrolled from Pre-Kindergarten to Year 12, and a school of that size requires multiple state-of-the-art facilities across their 46 acres of land.  The facilities require a significant amount of energy to operate, and as such their cost of electricity across the campus is substantial.

The college has installed solar power systems across the campus in order to reduce electricity costs, but with the rising cost of energy, the overall expenses have grown.

The results

As part of our presentation so the AISNSW we discussed our approach to energy procurement, and how our services involve taking a long-term view of energy expenses.  Our service involved regular contract and tariff reviews and, where possible, we lock in savings for our clients when they are presented.  This is exactly the approach we took for Radford College.

Radford College currently has electricity supply contracts locked in expiring in December 2025.  Importantly we saw that their current supply contract was signed in September 2022 – a particularly volatile time for wholesale energy prices.

Via a competitive tender process we secured Radford College an approximate saving of $200,000 for their 2026 and 2027 electricity supply agreements.  If a long-term view and a proactive approach to energy management wasn’t taken in this instance these savings may not have come to fruition.

Summary

A fantastic result for Radford College with some meaningful savings found by conducting a competitive tender for their electricity costs.  We always welcome kind reviews also!

The important message here is that electricity supply contracts for schools and businesses should be an ongoing consideration, not reviewed once every 3 years.  Like all expenses energy it should be an managed regularly – Spinifex Energy has a team providing this service who pride themselves on being energy experts for busy professionals who don’t have the time to.

Ongoing contract reviews and long-term forecasting is now a service that Radford College will enjoy as part of the services offered to Spinifex Energy clientele.