Efficient electricity and gas procurement reduces costs and workload.

enPORTAL has been offering commercial and craft enterprises free use of the online portal for energy procurement of electricity and gas since June 2017. Managing directors and energy buyers from SMEs can use the portal and the online marketplace to find the cheapest electricity and gas provider among 620 energy suppliers. Since all energy data is stored in a cloud, the electronic tendering process as well as the conclusion of the contract can be implemented quickly and securely with a click. The new service includes customer support and is aimed at small and medium-sized enterprises that want to professionalise their purchasing and reduce their energy costs through standardised online processes. The portal operator is thus meeting the new requirements in energy purchasing that arise from advancing digitalisation and more dynamic energy trading.

Free energy procurement online

Since June 2017, commercial and trade customers have been able to optimise their energy purchases online with the new, free service from enPORTAL and reduce their electricity and gas costs thanks to digital processes. After registering at www.enportal.de, the energy data provided by the customer is processed and clearly stored in the online portal by the enPORTAL service team. All consumption points, energy consumption, contracts and costs are now displayed in the portal and can be viewed by the customer in the cloud at any time.

Electronic tendering for electricity and gas

In an electronic tender, fixed price offers are requested from currently up to 620 energy suppliers on the online marketplace. Interested suppliers submit an electricity or gas price offer on the portal within a certain bidding period, which then automatically appears in a bidder's list. Customers see all price offers in combination with taxes, levies and network fees clearly displayed on the portal, sorted according to the pure energy price. The cheapest and most suitable supplier can be identified transparently at a glance and a lengthy price comparison is no longer necessary for the purchaser. Every step of the way is supported by a customer advisor from the enPORTAL service team, who knows the energy trade and the supplier market well. Thanks to efficient online processes, short commitment periods and intensive competition among suppliers, buyers receive the most favourable energy price at the time of the tender.

A click to the new energy supply contract

After the tender, the electricity or gas supply contract for the requested delivery period is concluded in a legally secure manner by click or by post. The energy supply contract is concluded between the customer and the supplier. Only the energy supplier pays a brokerage fee to enPORTAL for acquiring the customer. The amount of the fee is the same for all suppliers. "We attach great importance to fair competition, because this is the only way to achieve favourable energy prices. Which supplier is the best is decided by our customers themselves," says Rainer Otto. Lengthy evaluations and negotiations with suppliers are no longer necessary thanks to transparent energy procurement online.

New standard for energy purchasing online

The aim of the new service is to enable small and medium-sized enterprises from the commercial and trade sectors to implement the purchase of electricity and gas in the best possible way on their own. Energy consultants acting offline, large energy pools as well as non-transparent offers are a thing of the past. "Every buyer can carry out energy procurement professionally online and optimise it quickly with our portal as a new tool," says Clemens Graf von Wedel, founder and owner of enPORTAL. Another advantage: "The procurement of electricity and gas is done in just a few hours and customers save time, effort and ultimately money thanks to our standardised online processes," says Rainer Otto, founder and owner of enPORTAL. Currently, 1,500 customers from the industrial, commercial, hospital and retail sectors as well as public institutions use the online portal for energy procurement and commercial energy data management.