Is your energy contract up for renewal this autumn? Five questions to ask before you sign

Energy renewal conversations can quickly become dominated by one question: what price can we get?

The headline rate matters, but it does not tell you what is driving the price or how exposed your business could be over the next contract period.

This autumn, those questions are particularly important. The Guardian reported that EU gas storage was 63% full in the final week of August, against an average of 80% for late August in recent years. At the current injection rate, stocks could enter winter around a fifth below the five-year average.

Benchmark European gas prices have already risen above €68/MWh, more than double their level at the start of 2026. The point is not to predict what might happen next, but to understand how exposed your contract would leave you if market conditions change.

There are more reasons than ever before for businesses to understand what they’re locking into when renewing energy contracts. Here are five questions to ask before you commit.

1. Why does the wholesale gas market matter to my electricity contract?

UK electricity prices remain closely linked to gas. Under the marginal pricing system, gas-fired generation often sets the wholesale electricity price, even when cheaper renewable power is available.

A disruption to international gas supplies can therefore feed through to UK business electricity prices. It can also affect contracts sold as renewable if the electricity is bought through the wholesale market.

2. If I fix my energy price, am I protected from volatility?

During the contract term, a fixed price can provide budget certainty. The rate on offer, however, reflects wholesale market conditions and the supplier’s forecast view of energy price spikes when the agreement is made.

Ask what drives the fixed rate and how much wholesale exposure it carries.

3. What should I actually compare when reviewing energy contracts?

Look at the total cost rather than the unit rate alone, check which charges are fixed or passed through, and how much flexibility you have if consumption changes.

Contract length matters too — a shorter term contract may be less attractive if the terms leave you carrying more risk later.

4. If I’m buying renewable electricity, can I see where it comes from?

Usually not. Conventional green tariffs often supply electricity from the grid, then use certificates to match annual consumption with an equivalent amount of renewable generation.

Ask whether you can identify the generators supplying your electricity and see when the power was produced. Regular matching provides clearer evidence than an annual certificate alone, as we’ve explored in we need to free renewable energy from wholesale market volatility.

5. Are traditional contracts my only option?

No. Businesses can now buy energy through models that connect them more directly with renewable generators.

UrbanChain’s energy operating system matches business demand with power from named UK renewable generators every half hour. Prices can be agreed in advance, giving businesses greater certainty without linking the energy price to movements in the wholesale market.

No business can know what will disrupt energy markets this winter, but what it can decide is how exposed its next contract will leave it. If your energy contract is on the agenda this autumn, join us.

Key takeaways