Create an Energy Strategy To Reduce Your Business Energy Costs
We saved $50,000 in business energy costs for one small Business by creating an energy strategy to support factory expansion – the smarter way.
There are four actors in this little story.
- The Electrician, whom we will call Sparky Sam.
- The Business owner, whom we call Business Bob
- The Electricity Retailer, whom we will call Retail Rosie.
- Sharon from WiseUp Energy Solutions, who will call Streetwise Sharon.
Challenges with Business Expansion
Business Bob started in the industry many years ago as a fitter and turner and, through lots of blood, sweat and tears had transitioned from the shop floor to owning and managing a successful precision engineering business. He created a multimillion-dollar company from nothing and now employs a team of hard-working, happy, and loyal workers who produce precision engineering components.
An opportunity came along for Bob to buy the large shed next to his current leased workshop. Bob thought, “I could buy this property and fit it out with the latest high-tech equipment and take my business to a new level”. Business Bob signed the Contract, researched the equipment to buy, and then gave Sparky Sam a call to come and fit out all the electrics in the shed to support this new venture.
Bob and Sam worked together to design the electrical fit-out, ensuring that all the new machinery could run safely.
Sparky Sam and his team worked hard and finished the fit-out. Sam and Bob were pleased.
The next step for Sparky Sam was to submit the paperwork for approval. Sam diligently filled out the Electrical Work Request (EWR) form, listing all his work, and presented this to the Network.
Electricity Bill Shock
A little later, Business Bob got a call from Retail Rosie. “Hey, Bob, excellent work on your new shed. Just letting you know that with the size of that fit-out, you will now move from a Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) category to Commercial and Industrial (C&I). This means you will need to get a commercial contract. Oh, and by the way, the current rates are through the roof”.
Bob’s balloon was deflated! His business case now had a significant issue; to make matters worse, he wasn’t even sure how much extra this would add to his business energy costs.
Bob then made a great business decision. He called Streetwise Sharon from WiseUp Energy Solutions.
Electricity Bill Savings with WiseUp
Sharon got her calculator out and saw that the new Contract would cost Bob an extra $50K! She put her thinking cap on and then realised the fundamental problem with Sparky Sam and Business Bob‘s plan.
They had designed the fit-out to suit the end-game where the new shed would have all the shiny new machines installed. That makes sense, right? Well, this plan had one fundamental flaw, and it was about to cost Business Bob a ton of hard-earned cash.
The problem was that the new machinery was on order, and the shed would not be up to capacity for at least 12 months. Why pay the premium now for a benefit that won’t be realised until much later? Bob could avoid locking into a higher-rate commercial contract and start on a small business account while he waited for his new machinery.
Streetwise Sharon worked with Sam and Willam to step back and consider a phased approach to achieving the end-game. “Let’s submit the EWR based on the expected usage now and, while we are at it, spend that $50k on upgrading the new solar system from 50kW to 100kW. This will pay off when we negotiate the new contract.
Business Bob was so delighted that he had WiseUp working with him to secure this very sensible outcome. He now has a plan to manage his energy costs the smarter way. Nice one WiseUp
Book a Chat with WiseUp
Take 15 minutes out of your day to speak with Sharon. Strategy is everything on today’s energy market.
