Multi-site energy contracts — when an SME panel quote stops working

If you run a single site under ~100 MWh/year, the SME retailer panel (Origin, AGL, Momentum, Powershop, EnergyAustralia, Alinta, Shell SME) is built for you. Compare 4-6 quotes, pick the best one, switch, done.

If you run multiple sites — or a single big site above the 100 MWh/year threshold — the SME panel is the wrong tool. You’re a C&I customer (Commercial & Industrial) and the rules change.

This guide is for owners and procurement managers running 2+ sites or single sites above 100 MWh/year. We’ll cover:

• The thresholds that move you from SME → C&I
• The four C&I retailers worth tendering
• How an aggregated tender actually works
• What contract terms matter most for multi-site (and what to push back on)
• Real savings benchmarks from portfolios we’ve tendered

If you’d rather skip the reading: send us a list of your sites with their NMIs and annual usage and we’ll model where you sit, who’d quote, and what the rebid would likely save. Free, no obligation, paid by the retailer when you switch.

The 30-second version

C&I energy procurement is a different process from SME:

• SME panel quoting: a broker sends your bill to 4-6 retailers, they quote within 48-72 hours.
• C&I tender: a broker compiles your portfolio data (NMIs, 12 months of half-hourly meter data per site, aggregated load shape), sends a tender pack to 4-6 C&I retailers, manages 2-3 weeks of negotiation, builds a portfolio comparison.

The C&I process takes longer, costs the broker more time, and saves you meaningfully more money. Single-retailer panel pricing typically saves SMEs 5-15% on the annual bill. A clean C&I tender typically saves portfolios 8-25%, sometimes more for sites that have been out-of-term for years.

When you cross from SME to C&I

Three thresholds that matter:

1. Single-site usage above 100 MWh/year

This is the network-rule trigger. Once a single site uses more than 100 MWh/year, the network moves you to a demand-billed tariff (you get a kVA line on your bill — see our demand charges guide) and most SME panel retailers stop pricing competitively. The C&I retailers pick up.

2. Portfolio aggregate above 160 MWh/year

The NEM (National Electricity Market) rules class you as a “large market customer” when your aggregate usage across all sites exceeds 160 MWh/year. Different consumer protections apply, different metering rules, different contract structures.

3. Site count above 5

Even if no single site hits the threshold, once you have 5+ sites in the portfolio, the procurement process changes. Aggregated tendering becomes worth the effort. Single-retailer billing simplification becomes valuable. Contract uniformity becomes important.

If you’re above any one of these thresholds: you’re a C&I customer and you should be running a tender, not a panel quote.

The four C&I retailers worth tendering

Australia has roughly two dozen retailers in the commercial market. Only four consistently price sharp on C&I tenders for SEQ businesses:

SmartestEnergy Australia

• Sweet spot: medium-to-large portfolios (200 MWh - 2 GWh aggregate)
• Strengths: usually the sharpest demand pricing, transparent load-shape modelling, strong on multi-site with mixed shapes
• Weaknesses: smaller customer service team than the majors

Shell Energy C&I

• Sweet spot: large portfolios above 1 GWh and gas + electricity bundled
• Strengths: bundled gas + electricity tenders are their strongest competitive ground, good for hospitality groups with gas kitchens
• Weaknesses: less sharp on small portfolios

AGL C&I

• Sweet spot: established mid-size portfolios (100 MWh - 1 GWh) seeking stability
• Strengths: market share gives them volume discounts they can pass through; strong renewable certificate options
• Weaknesses: rarely the sharpest on demand pricing

Origin Enterprise

• Sweet spot: large portfolios in growth/expansion mode
• Strengths: flexibility on contract terms (12/24/36/longer); willing to negotiate aggressively on multi-year deals
• Weaknesses: published default rates are often non-competitive — you have to push them

Other retailers occasionally quote competitively for specific industries (Energy Locals for some renewables-aligned operators, Diamond Energy for retail with strong sustainability requirements). We include them when there’s a specific fit.

How a C&I tender actually works

The mechanics aren’t complicated, but they’re different from SME quoting. Here’s the sequence:

Week 1: Data assembly

The broker (us) pulls together:

• A list of every NMI in your portfolio, mapped to its site and operating hours
• 12 months of half-hourly meter data per NMI (in NEM12 format) — pulled via the metering data provider with your Letter of Authority
• Each site’s tariff code and current contract end date
• Aggregated load shape (combined kW profile across all sites, hour by hour)
• Any future site additions or closures that affect the volume forecast

Week 2: Tender pack issued

We send the data pack and a tender brief to 4-6 retailers. The brief includes:

• The exact pricing structure being requested (peak/off-peak/shoulder, demand pass-through, contract term)
• Required clauses (cooling-off, contract review schedule, exit terms)
• Submission deadline (usually 5-7 business days)

Week 3: Quote analysis

Retailers come back with structured quotes. We build a portfolio-level comparison showing:

• Total annual cost per retailer (across all sites)
• Per-site breakdown so you can see which retailer suits which kind of site
• The all-in rate (cents per kWh equivalent) once demand and supply are factored in
• A “best fit” recommendation with the reasoning

Week 3-4: Negotiation

This is where C&I tenders differ from SME quoting. We go back to the top 2-3 retailers and push:

• Sharper demand rates (often 5-15% movement possible here)
• Better supply charges (sometimes 20% movement)
• Improved contract clauses (cooling-off extensions, contract review windows)
• Volume rebates for forward growth commitments

Most retailers will sharpen by 2-8% in this round. The negotiation is where the real saving happens, not the first quote.

Week 4: Sign

You sign the winning retailer’s contract for the whole portfolio. We coordinate the customer transfer requests with each site’s existing retailer. Switch dates land at each site’s next meter read.

Contract clauses that matter most for multi-site

Three lines in the contract worth fighting for:

1. The demand rate pass-through

For a single site, the demand rate is a single number. For a portfolio, it’s per-site. The default position is a fixed mark-up per site. Better: pass-through pricing (you pay the network rate, retailer adds a flat $/kVA margin). On a 12-site portfolio with $50,000/year demand spend, switching from “fixed retailer markup” to “pass-through + flat $1/kVA margin” can save $4,000-10,000/year.

2. The mid-contract review clause

Standard SME contracts are fixed-rate for the term. C&I contracts often have a mid-contract review at month 12 or month 18. This is your chance to renegotiate if wholesale markets have moved meaningfully. Always include this. We’ve used the mid-contract review to bring a 36-month contract down to within 4% of the current best market rate after 18 months.

3. Indexation

Some C&I contracts have wholesale indexation — your rate moves with the AEMO spot price. This is risky on a 3-year contract. Two approaches:

• Avoid indexation entirely for predictable cash flow (most SMEs prefer this)
• Cap the indexation at a fixed maximum movement per quarter (better than uncapped exposure)

We’ve helped a logistics operator save $48,000 over 24 months by negotiating a capped indexation clause down from uncapped — and the cap never hit, but the protection mattered.

Real savings benchmarks (anonymised)

These are from clean rebids of portfolios that had been out-of-term or signed on default rates for 18+ months. Numbers are total annual saving achieved after the tender + negotiation.

These are real-world tender outcomes, not projections. The pattern: longer out-of-term + bigger demand spend = bigger absolute saving. Even portfolios that were on competitive contracts but signed during a different wholesale market phase save 8-15% on a clean rebid.

When NOT to tender

Two scenarios where running a full C&I tender doesn’t make sense:

1. You signed a sharp contract in the last 6 months. Mid-contract rebidding can trigger exit fees that exceed the saving. Wait until the 90-day pre-expiry window and rebid then.

2. Your portfolio is shrinking or restructuring. If you’re divesting sites in the next 12 months, the volume forecast changes — wait until the portfolio stabilises.

In both cases: a quick contract review (no rebid, just a check that everything’s reasonable) is the right move. Takes us 1-2 days, no LoA needed for the review-only version.

Common questions

Can my existing retailer keep my whole portfolio if they win the tender?
Yes — that’s the usual outcome when the existing retailer is forced to compete. We’ve kept clients with their existing retailer many times after a tender. The retailer just sharpens to keep the volume.

How long does a multi-site contract usually run?
12, 24, or 36 months are the standard options. We typically recommend 24 months for portfolios in stable conditions — long enough to justify the tender effort, short enough to rebid before too much market movement.

Can I add or remove sites mid-contract?
Yes, in most C&I contracts. Adding sites usually gets the same per-site rate; removing sites might trigger a partial exit fee. Negotiate the add/remove clauses up front.

Do all sites need to be on the same retailer?
No, but it usually saves more if they are. Single retailer = one invoice consolidation, one account manager, easier reporting. Some portfolios choose to split (e.g. NSW sites with one retailer, QLD with another) if regional pricing favours different retailers — but that’s the exception.

What’s the typical fee for a multi-site tender?
Zero for you. We’re paid by the winning retailer when the switch completes. Commission is built into the contract pricing and is disclosed on request. The retailer’s commission is the same whether they win one site or twenty — but our work scales with the tender size.

What to do this week

If you’ve got 2+ sites and your contracts are within 9 months of expiry, or you’re out-of-term on any site:

1. Pull together a quick list of your NMIs (find them on the front page of each site’s bill — 10 or 11-digit number).
2. Note each site’s annual usage (top of bill) and contract end date.
3. Email hello@smartaswitch.com.au with the list. We’ll come back within 24 hours with where you sit and what the tender process would likely save.

If you’ve got a procurement team and want to run a proper formal tender: send through the same data and ask for the tender brief. We’ll send the brief, you sign off, we run the process.

Joe Lawrence — Co-founder, Smarta Switch Australia
0435 642 592 · joseff@smartaswitch.com.au