Energy is an essential expenditure for businesses, and whether your organisation uses a lot or a little, it’s going to make a difference to your profit margin. As we move towards a cleaner energy future, commodity costs are becoming increasingly volatile, and non-commodity costs are rising as environmental charges and levies are increased. This doesn’t mean that you should resign yourself to higher energy bills, fortunately, there are plenty of ways that you can reduce your organisation’s costs.
We’re here to help with our top tips on how to cut your energy costs.
- Check your bills
Business energy bills are made up of a complex combination of commodity and non-commodity charges, and sometimes these charges can be miscalculated. In fact, it’s estimated that around 20% of all utility bills are incorrect[1].
If you’re not checking your bills – or you don’t have the in-house expertise to know whether they are accurate or not – then you might not notice that your charges are higher than they should be. Over the months and years, this could lead to huge overpayments by your organisation. So if you’re not already doing it, make sure that you’re validating each and every invoice you receive. If you find an error, you can claim back overpayments for up to six years, so you could find significant savings in your bills. Installing invoice validation software can make the process much easier, as the software will be able to accurately and efficiently identify errors with no extra burden to your in-house team.
2. Reduce your usage
The best way to bring your energy bills down is to simply use less energy, so it’s time to focus on energy efficiency. Start by reviewing your energy consumption data, as this should show you where you’re using the most energy and help you to identify key areas for improvement. Perhaps a particular site is using much more energy than your other sites, for example, or maybe you’re using energy outside of normal working hours, which might indicate that lights and computers are being left on.
By improving your energy efficiency, you should see your overall consumption fall – but it’s important to monitor your energy data to ensure that your measures are having the desired effect. Energy management software can be really useful here – SystemsLink’s Energy Manager tool, for example, enables you to see all of your energy data at-a-glance and create custom charts for measuring your progress.
Once you’ve identified the areas you want to target, it’s time to take action. Measures like implementing behavioural change programmes to encourage staff to save energy on-site can be very low cost. Other budget-friendly options include switching to LED lighting throughout your sites, and installing sensors to automatically turn your lights and air conditioning off when a room is unoccupied.
3. Review prices before you renew
If your current energy contract will be coming to an end soon, you may be able to cut your costs by securing a better deal for your business. In order to do this, you will need to have a clear view of market prices – so having software like Market Eye at your disposal is crucial. Market Eye gives your team a view of the latest market prices, as well as access to up to two years of market trend history, which should give you the information you need to make a well-informed decision when it comes to choosing a contract.
Reviewing current prices will also prepare you for conversations with suppliers, supporting your negotiation, particularly when the market is moving whilst you are actively tendering. Having this pricing information could also help you to make a decision about which type of contract could provide the best opportunity to save in the current market. For example, if prices are high when it’s time to renew your contract, but the market has been volatile, you may decide to opt for a flexible contract so that you’re able to take advantage of lower prices if and when the market falls.
Cut your energy costs with SystemsLink
Whether you’re looking to review market prices before you sign your next energy contract, monitor your energy efficiency measures or validate your bills more efficiently, SystemsLink’s software has a range of tools designed to help you save money on your energy bills. Find out more about how SystemsLink could help your business to save, call us on 01234 834650 or email sales@systems-link.com.
[1] https://inspiredenergy.co.uk/energy-bureau/bill-validation/
