harnessing chaos: managing energy costs in 2022

Unless you have been living in a cave these last 9 months, you may have noticed that the cost of living crisis has featured quite extensively.

Nobody really needs the recent history lesson as to the cornucopia of contributing factors that have landed us here. Supply chain issues coming out of Covid, Semiconductor shortages, Brexit, Seasonal worker shortages, the war in Ukraine, and I may have missed one or two there.

This has led to an almost shocking increase in the cost of Gas, Oil, and electricity. Now, as consumers, we have actually been largely protected by the Price Cap, although not soo much come October. Businesses are not so lucky.

Business utilities have no Cap protection from price rising. As a result, businesses are facing unprecedented cost pressures. A recent Survey by Herald Scotland showed that 88% of businesses expect to have to increase their costs to customers over the next year.

Obviously, as a business, that is the last thing you want to do, as it always opens the door to competitors, but sometimes, needs must. But, how can you minimise the increase, or delay when you might have to do it?

The clue was in the title of this, but, one big BIG area, is energy management.

Seems a little simplistic doesn’t it? But bear with me here, as it is something we have a bit of experience making simplistic.

In essence, what we do it monitor and manage every asset in your business, and let you make smarter decisions, and save significant sums of money.

For example, one customer of ours realised VERY quickly, that evenings and Sundays, times when their floor was not in use, was still consuming significant energy. On inspection, it was machinery not being fully switched off, but rather idling, similar to if you only turn your TV off with the remote, not the wall.

Then we consider the utilization of individual assets. Say you have a 6 am-6 pm shift pattern, but some machines are not used past 4 pm? Do you turn them off then? Do you wait until E.O.D and turn everything off at once?

Be honest with yourself now.

So there, straight away energy bills on such machines down nearly 15%, with another 20% down across the board with the weekend savings. What is that worth?

And we are only getting warmed up at this point, we have means of making massive savings across really anything with a motor, not always by reinventing the wheel, sometimes it is just about making it roll better. Arming your management team with this level of information about what you have, when it is being used, and how much using it costs, allows decisions to be made based on fact, not just feelings.

And with no clear end in sight for the energy price increases, is now the time to get a harness on utility costs? Putting off any cost increases to your customers, letting you stay ahead longer.