How planning ahead this summer can save you 20% off your business’s energy bill

Not adequately planning for ‘capacity charges’ is costing businesses thousands of dollars in energy bills.

A capacity charge is like a “penalty” fee on every business’s energy bill based on energy use during periods when WA’s energy grid is at maximum demand – usually during hot weather periods.

It can be up to 23% of a business’s overall energy charges for the year, but for a lot of businesses, it’s easily avoidable.

We use analytics to predict and assess when those periods are going to be. They’re in 1 ½ -hour windows between December and March where the grid is under pressure.

If you know when those periods of pressure are going to be, you can power down non-essential energy usage for that period and avoid the charge on your next yearly bill.

If you’re a business with average energy bills of $50,000 a year, that’s going to save you over $10,000, which can then be spent on other important assets you need.

But because they’re so busy, many business owners don’t even know it’s an option – and they’re not helped by the fact the energy industry often talks in acronyms and technical terms that create a barrier to understanding exactly how your energy bill is calculated.

According to Synergy’s website, capacity charges are calculated based on the customer’s usage during ‘Peak Trading Intervals’ from the year before.

Synergy advises businesses that they should look to reduce their energy consumption between 3pm and 8pm on the hottest days between December and March.

We use data analysis to predict when those Peak Trading Intervals will be and sends alerts to their clients to warn them to power down their non-essentials.

While in the past, business owners may have been able to make rough predictions themselves, it’s now become very complicated.

Factors including cloud cover, sea breeze and electricity consumption across the grid all play a part in determining when those peak periods are going to be.

Want to learn more or get your business involved? Contact us and one of our friendly team members will be in touch.

 

Written by Martin Jurat