Case Study: The Orders of St John Care Trust

The challenge  

The challenge for OSJCT has always been ensuring they have budget certainty alongside the best utility price across their care home portfolio. Having co-terminus contract end dates is also a very important factor.

The solution  

Initially, OSJCT secured a fixed-price contract for the first year. The market was extremely high when the renewal date came which demanded an alternative approach. Through collaborative risk management scoping sessions, it was decided that they would opt for a flexible contract for two years.

When the market hit all-time lows, a fixed contract to capitalise was the most appropriate course of action. By securing the fixed supply contracts for three years on an average unit price of £43.15/ MWh and 34.84p/therm for electricity and gas respectively, OSJCT avoided the highs when prices reached £851.86 and £827.08p.

The Trust has around 12GWh of electricity and 35GWh of gas usage across the portfolio. By adapting the procurement strategy and securing a long-term contract at the right time, OSJCT managed to avoid the unprecedented market highs of recent years.

The results

• The strategy helped OSJCT achieve savings of £464k on electricity and £332k on gas against the initial budget
• Fixed Supply contracts avoided the maximum price increases of 1974% for electricity and 2373% for gas