The situation
Regatta Great Outdoors, with 43 sites and 2.6 million units a year, came to us three months before its contract ended. Wholesale prices had risen sharply since it last fixed, and every renewal quote in front of it landed between 28% and 42% above what it was paying.
What we did
Working with our partner Clear Path Energy, we rebuilt Regatta’s consumption from twelve months of actual metered data rather than relying on supplier estimates, then put the same volumes and the same agreed capacities in front of every supplier so the quotes could be compared like for like. That alone changed the ranking: one supplier had quoted on volumes several per cent light, which made its price look better than it was.
We took the portfolio to four suppliers across one-, two-, three- and five-year terms, and to the private market.
The private market option
Instead of buying from a supplier’s book, Regatta is matched directly to two wind farms. When the wind is generating and the sites are drawing power at the same time, that electricity is bought at the generator’s price rather than the market’s. Anything not matched is charged at a normal fixed rate, so the matching can only work in Regatta’s favour.
The result
| Option | Increase |
|---|---|
| Incumbent renewal | +34% |
| Best conventional fixed | +28% |
| Matched to wind | +13% |
Matching came in around 12% below the best conventional offer and 16% below staying put, and it more than halved the increase Regatta was facing.
The honest caveats
The saving depends on the wind farms coming online and generating as forecast. The second farm starts in spring 2027, so the first winter is charged at the standard fixed rate throughout and the benefit builds from then. We modelled it month by month so Regatta could see exactly when the saving arrives, rather than being shown an annual average that hides it.