5 ways to proactively manage your non-commodity costs

Taking proactive control of your consumption is as crucial as buying at the right time. There are a variety of options to help manage and mitigate the impact of these charges to your business. Here we explore our top 5 tips to better manage your non-commodity charges.

1. Choose your energy contract wisely
   It’s important to think carefully about your non-commodity costs when securing your energy supply contract. There are many options available ranging from fully fixed to pass-through. It is important to make sure you’re comparing apples with apples when assessing contract offers and that you ensure you know which option best suits your business before committing to a contract. It’s vital to consider your wider energy strategy, a fully fixed contract could limit the potential gains from being more proactive.
2. Better understand your energy data
   Unlock the true potential of your energy usage. Gathering data is one thing, translating and interpreting it is another. An Intelligent Bureau uses clever analytics, algorithms, and artificial intelligence programming to unearth serious business insights that turn your site into an intelligent building, delivering powerful savings, and uncovering new and previously unexplored opportunities for additional revenue. Practical solutions could include a kVa capacity review or reactive power analysis to undercover the need for power factor correction equipment.
3.  Install the right technology to future proof your business
   Transform your data into real-time insights; saving carbon, energy, and other operational costs. Intelligent Building Controls can potentially deliver 20% savings on your operating costs with an ROI under 12 months. Plus additional infrastructure such as wind, solar, battery storage and LED lighting can also help to reduce your usage, cut costs and support net zero carbon targets.
4.  Start to load shift and load shed
   Reduce inefficiencies in performance by managing out of hours’ consumption and shifting or shedding consumption when prices are greatest at certain times each day. Around 10,000 UK firms could make around £20,000 a year in cost savings or revenue by moving or curtailing power use at peak times, according to 2017 analysis by SmartestEnergy.
5.  Take advantage of Demand Side Response (DSR) opportunities
   You can get paid if you’re able to reduce consumption from the electricity grid at busy times when the national demand for energy is at its peak or to help National Grid manage system frequency. There are plenty of schemes on offer so you’ll need to decide which is the right fit for your organisation and how best you can react when you need to manage your demand levels. It’s easier if you have Intelligent Building Controls and back-up generation or storage to support your strategy.