Multi-Site Property Energy Contracts, Explained

One portfolio, many contracts

An owner with ten properties rarely has one energy contract. Each meter on each property has its own utility account, its own rate class and, often, its own supply arrangement. Add a solar array or a battery at a few sites and the paperwork multiplies.

Organizing those contracts is not glamorous, but it is where portfolio savings start. You cannot price a change you cannot see.

Three layers on every bill

1. Delivery. The local utility owns the wires and bills delivery under its published tariff. The rate class depends on the account, not on negotiation. Demand charges usually sit on this side of the bill.

2. Supply. The energy itself. In states with retail choice, an account either takes the utility's default service or buys from a third-party supplier under a contract. Utilities publish their default supply price separately from delivery: Eversource in Connecticut, for example, issues a dated sheet of its Standard Service and Last Resort Service generation prices by rate class. See what changed on that sheet this fall.

3. On-site energy. Solar, storage or EV charging on the property, under one of three structures: a roof lease, a power purchase agreement, or ownership with the energy sold on site. See how a roof becomes a revenue line.

Each layer has its own term, its own counterparty and its own exit rules. Across a portfolio, those terms rarely line up.

Where multi-site portfolios lose money

• Contracts that end on different dates. Supply contracts signed site by site renew or lapse at different times, so no one sees the whole position at once.
• Accounts left on default service by accident. A site that rolls off a supply contract may drop back to the utility's default price without anyone deciding it should.
• Supply terms that ignore on-site plans. A supply contract priced on today's usage may say something about large changes in usage. Read that clause before adding solar or a battery at the site.
• One-off project terms. Negotiating a separate on-site energy agreement for every property repeats the legal work and produces terms that cannot be compared.

How to organize it

1. Build an account register. One row per meter: property, utility, account number, rate class, supply arrangement, contract end date and early termination terms.
2. Separate the decisions. Supply pricing is a procurement decision. On-site energy is a capital and structuring decision. They interact, but they should not be bundled into one signature.
3. Use a master agreement for on-site work. One framework sets the commercial terms once; each property is added by a short site schedule. This is how management firms, school networks and other multi-site owners roll projects out property by property. See our multifamily and HOA and condo pages.
4. Sequence by site, not by portfolio. Tariff, roof, load and interconnection decide which sites are worth doing first. A portfolio plan is a ranked list of sites, not one project.

The first step

Pull twelve months of bills for every meter in the portfolio. That is enough to build the account register and see which sites deserve a closer look. Send them to us and we will read them back to you.

This is general guidance reviewed on November 2, 2026, not legal advice. Confirm contract terms with your counsel before signing or terminating any agreement.

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