Supplier Contract Comparison Worksheet

What each row means

The worksheet at the top of this page is a structured grid for three offers plus your current supply price.

Your monthly usage (kWh) should be a trailing-twelve-month average from bills, not nameplate load. Cannabis cultivation meters are flat through the year on indoor flower schedules, so a straight average works. If you are seasonal or ramping production, use the month you expect during the contract start instead.

Current supply rate (cents/kWh) is the supply portion only. On a consolidated bill, split the supplier line from delivery lines. In default service, the utility's energy charge is your benchmark [papowerswitch-glossary]. In a deregulated state, that benchmark may be labeled price to compare, standard offer, or basic generation service depending on the regulator.

For each offer column:

Row	Purpose
Supply rate	Headline cents per kWh for energy
Term	Contract length in months
Pass-through charges	Free text for capacity, transmission, RPS, and similar
Bandwidth / swing	How much load can deviate from forecast before price changes
Early termination fee	ETF formula from the contract
Annual supply cost	kWh × 12 × rate, calculated for you
Difference vs. current	Dollar savings or cost vs. your entered current rate
Over full term	Savings or cost across the stated term months

The math step by step

Annual supply cost uses one formula:

Annual dollars = monthly kWh × 12 × (cents per kWh ÷ 100)

Assume 150,000 kWh per month, a current supply rate of 9.5 cents/kWh, and Offer A at 8.75 cents/kWh for 24 months.

Line	Calculation	Result
Your current annual supply	150,000 × 12 × 0.095	$171,000
Offer A annual supply	150,000 × 12 × 0.0875	$157,500
Difference vs. current	$171,000 − $157,500	saves $13,500/year
Over full 24-month term	$13,500 × 2	+$27,000

The "over full term" row multiplies the annual difference by term months divided by twelve. It assumes usage stays flat and the rate stays fixed for the whole term. Index and block-and-index products need a separate scenario; see fixed vs. index vs. block-and-index contracts.

Why the fine-print rows matter

A fixed price in cannabis supply contracts is often fixed for energy only. PJM capacity charges tied to your peak load contribution can move with auction results even when energy is locked [pjm-glossary]. An offer at 8.75 cents with full capacity pass-through can beat 8.50 cents with a capacity adder you cannot cap.

Write the pass-through row in plain language copied from the contract definition section, not from the sales email. If the supplier says "fully fixed," ask whether capacity, transmission, ancillary services, and renewable portfolio standards are included [pa-puc-electric-terms]. Maryland's choice glossary lists common pass-through categories for comparison [md-electric-choice-glossary].

Bandwidth matters when your load grows. A craft grow doubling canopy mid-term can exceed a ±10 percent band and trigger index pricing on the excess. Put the band and the overrun price in the worksheet so you remember to model expansion.

Early termination fees turn a good first-year rate into an expensive exit. Note whether the ETF is flat, declining, or tied to remaining term volume. Our page on contract terms, ETFs, and evergreen clauses walks common language.

How to run a clean comparison

1. Send every supplier the same RFP: term length, product type (fixed, index, or block), start month, and treatment of capacity and transmission.
2. Pull interval data or twelve months of bills so usage in the worksheet matches reality. See interval data and AMI meters.
3. Fill three columns the same day offers arrive. Rates stale over a weekend in volatile markets.
4. Add delivery and demand from your utility bill to any supply savings before you claim total dollar impact.
5. Read your state's switching guide for enrollment steps after you pick an offer.

Limits of this worksheet

It does not model hourly index prices, block quantities, or congestion components. It does not include demand charges, taxes, or utility delivery riders. It stores nothing server-side.

Use it to eliminate offers that lose on arithmetic before you spend legal review on pass-through language. When quotes are close, a broker or direct supplier conversation should stress-test a high-price year, not just the expected one. The energy broker vs. direct supplier page describes how to run that bid either way.

Fixed, index, and block products on the worksheet

The worksheet arithmetic assumes a single cents-per-kWh supply rate times monthly kWh times twelve. That matches fully fixed energy offers or default service benchmarks.

Index products bill against hourly or daily market indices plus adder. Enter a budget rate for screening, then model high-price year separately. Read fixed vs. index vs. block-and-index contracts before you compare index to fixed on this grid alone.

Block-and-index locks a quantity at fixed price and floats the remainder. The worksheet cannot split blocks without duplicating columns. Run one column for the fixed block kWh at block price and a second manual calc for index exposure on the balance.

Hybrid green products may add REC charges in pass-through rows even when energy is fixed. Note REC treatment in pass-through text [md-electric-choice-glossary].

When product types differ across columns, arithmetic comparison is misleading. Normalize product type in the RFP before filling the grid.

PJM pass-through categories to copy into the grid

Pennsylvania's PUC electric terms dictionary defines components suppliers itemize [pa-puc-electric-terms]. Common pass-through lines in cannabis supply contracts:

Component	What moves	Cannabis relevance
Energy	Locked or indexed	Headline rate row
Capacity	PJM auction results	Ties to peak load contribution [pjm-glossary]
Transmission	FERC-regulated	Less volatile than capacity
Ancillary services	ISO charges	Usually smaller line
Losses	Utility loss factors	Can surprise on large loads
RPS / SREC compliance	State law	Varies by state

An offer at 8.50 cents with capacity at cost may beat 8.25 cents with a capacity adder of 0.4 cents that is uncapped. Copy definitions from the contract, not the sales summary.

Maryland's choice glossary lists parallel terms for comparison shopping [md-electric-choice-glossary]. PAPowerSwitch glossary helps decode Pennsylvania supplier labels [papowerswitch-glossary].

Bandwidth and load growth scenarios

Cannabis facilities expand canopy mid-contract. Bandwidth clauses charge overages when actual kWh exceeds forecast band.

Worksheet free-text bandwidth rows should capture:

• Percent band (example: plus or minus 10 percent)
• Price applied to overage kWh (often index)
• Whether underage kWh rolls forward or is forfeited
• Reset cadence when you update forecast

Model expansion: if monthly kWh rises from 150,000 to 180,000 (+20 percent), a 10 percent band triggers index pricing on 15,000 kWh per month. That can erase headline supply savings.

Send suppliers an updated load letter before you sign if buildout is underway. FAQ contract fine print questions covers bandwidth language operators miss.

Early termination and renewal mechanics

ETF rows should record formula type: flat fee, declining schedule, or multiplied by remaining kWh at a differential rate. Some contracts allow ETF waiver on renewal.

Renewal clauses deserve equal weight:

• Auto-renew to variable index if notice missed
• Evergreen month-to-month after term
• Fixed renewal price vs. fresh bid

Our guide to contract terms, ETFs, and evergreen clauses walks sample language.

If you are mid-contract, worksheet comparison is for the renewal cycle, not today. Note current ETF before you switch early.

Adding delivery and demand to supply savings

Worksheet output is supply-only. Total bill impact requires utility delivery lines.

Quick total check:

1. Compute annual supply savings from worksheet difference row.
2. Add unchanged annual delivery and demand from last twelve months of utility bills.
3. Compare to prior total bill.

Supply savings of $13,500 per year mean little if delivery demand rose $20,000 from a ratchet. Pair with demand charge estimator when kW trended up.

Taxes and gross receipts surcharges apply to both portions in many states; this worksheet excludes them.

RFP discipline for clean columns

Send identical instructions to every bidder:

• Same term length and start month
• Same product type (fixed, index, or block)
• Same treatment of capacity and transmission (included vs. pass-through at cost)
• Same bandwidth assumption based on trailing kWh plus stated expansion
• Same adder disclosure for broker fees if any

Pull usage from interval data or twelve months of bills. Fill columns the day offers arrive.

After arithmetic eliminates losers, read pass-through language on the remaining offers with counsel. Then follow your state switching guide for enrollment.

Confirm eligibility first with the state deregulation eligibility checker. Compare regional averages on the state commercial rate comparison table when default service is the benchmark.

Document retention after you pick a winner

Save the filled worksheet PDF, all supplier PDFs, the signed contract, and the utility default rate screenshot from the bid week. Regulators occasionally audit marketing claims; internal audit trails help when CFO asks why you switched two years later.

Note the broker fee disclosure if applicable. Fees appear in contract adders or supplier confirmations; they are not hidden in this worksheet arithmetic.

Store interval data and load forecasts sent with the RFP so renewal teams in three years understand bandwidth assumptions.