Why managing energy data is critical to the success of your business
Greetings everyone,
I’m going to dive straight into the water today and say that the priority for nearly every business is to generate profits, and to reduce costs to the business. Over the years energy companies have employed complex billing systems/ methods that don’t always benefit businesses, and the need for an intermediary such as an energy data management service has become more relevant over time. In today’s blog I will share a few reasons as to why you should consider working with an energy data management company to help simplify energy bill payment and put the “power” back into your business’ hands.
1. Reduced Costs
In the past, consumers had limited options when it came to paying for energy usage and were forced to pay the bill total regardless of whether the data was correct or not. We used to consider energy bills as, “Just a cost of doing business”. Those days are long gone and businesses should be aware that due to the way that the energy companies now calculate energy usage we now have options when it comes to our energy consumption.
Almost every utility provider throughout North America has various rate categories for commercial customers, and within these categories there are numerous calculations applied to produce your final bill. If your business isn’t able to comprehend and synthesize this information and ensure that the business is being categorized correctly, then how can you make certain that the business is in line with its focus (which is to increase profits and reduce costs)? The answer is, “YOU CANNOT”. In order to truly take responsibility for the money that your company is spending on energy consumption you must be able to understand and action the data that energy companies use to generate your bills, and that’s where a utility data management service thrives, and provides value through reduced costs to your business.
2. Actionable Data
The great thing about working with a good energy/utility data management company is that you will receive actionable reports of your energy consumption. This means that every time you receive a bill, your energy data management company will provide your business with information that will help to adjust its energy consumption thus saving the company money by enabling it to:
compare similar locations by factoring the data for year-to-year weather conditions and identify high usage/cost sites.
- identify and target sites for energy retrofits. Once retrofits are implemented, benchmarks can be measured against performance to establish ROI(Return on Investment) .
- monitor, track and report energy reduction initiatives, green house reductions can be calculated and reported.
- determine, track, and report corporate energy reduction targets.
3. Convenience
Although every business has an accountant or an accounting department very few businesses are equipped with resources that can truly breakdown the energy companies’ billing system and provide actionable data that will lead to savings.
Working with a solid utility data management company will ensure the validity of the information is confirmed, and that the bills are paid on time EVERY MONTH.
The most important thing to consider when it comes to bill payment is that the data is correct. The data that companies use to determine your bills must be accurate, but it is your responsibility as a business to make certain that the proper procedures are being implemented and carried out to ensure that the reports provided on the backend are complete, and that numbers can be substantiated. Ensuring that the energy companies are basing your invoice totals upon sound data is paramount for the financial success of your business. There is veritable value in your energy data management program.