Open Access vs Captive vs Group Captive: Which Model Fits Your Business?

Use this side-by-side comparison to align procurement model choice with your load profile, control preference, and execution readiness.

Switch to Clean Energy Procurement Checklist
Decision Factor Open Access Captive Group Captive
Ownership posture Primarily procurement-focused with contract-driven sourcing. Higher control orientation with dedicated ownership alignment. Shared ownership construct with multi-party participation.
Operational involvement Lower direct operational involvement by buyer. Greater internal coordination across legal, finance, and operations. Moderate-to-high coordination because of consortium structure.
Commercial complexity Contract and tariff evaluation is the main workload. Needs deeper structuring and long-horizon planning. Requires clear governance, participant alignment, and administration model.
Best-fit profile Teams prioritizing speed and clarity in power procurement. Teams seeking stronger ownership-linked strategic control. Organizations comfortable with a structured shared model.

How to choose in practice

  1. Start with your load profile, procurement goals, and decision timeline.
  2. Assess internal capability for ownership, governance, and compliance workload.
  3. Shortlist the model that best balances cost, control, and execution speed.
  4. Validate assumptions with a structured onboarding flow before commitment.

Comparison FAQs

No. Model fit depends on your operating context, internal governance readiness, and commercial priorities.

Start early, before commercial negotiation, so model choice can guide data collection and governance decisions.

Use the Switch to Clean Energy flow and submit your demand profile and timeline so options can be structured quickly.