Mercabarna and Assocome have joined forces to negotiate joint electricity and gas contracts. Thanks to this initiative, all businesses in the Food Unit taking part in the scheme will be able to save an average of 7.5% on their electricity bills and 13.7% on gas. The percentage will vary depending on consumption and the type of energy contract they currently have.
This joint procurement model is nothing new at Mercabarna. As a matter of fact, it has been used for many years now in the area of telecommunications. The scheme takes advantage of the large concentration of businesses in the market to achieve greater negotiating leverage with service providers, resulting in more competitive prices.

E-tender
The selection process for the utility company was carried out as an online tender held on 18 September. Six utility companies made their offers and counteroffers in real time. The aim was to improve the average price per kilowatt hour the businesses now pay, based on a study of the electrical consumption of the 300 businesses at Mercabarna.
In the end, two companies won the bid, Endesa and Gas Natural.
As of now, Mercabarna businesses interested in finding out the rates offered by these companies and obtaining the paperwork to contract these services can do so through Mercabarna’s Maintenance and Works Department or Assocome.
The agreed upon prices will be valid until December 2014, when a new tender will be held to adjust the rates.