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Connecticut energy suppliers and their customers have more in common than one might think. Rather than being in opposition to each other, they can actually both help each other achieve their goals, primarily through the lens of sustainability.
With the U.S. economy growing slowly and the pains of the Great Recession still not too far in the rearview mirror, many businesses are keeping a close eye on budgets. In fact, a Deloitte study of executives at Fortune 1000 companies last spring found that 88% of companies expected to pursue cost reductions over the following two years, regardless of whether revenues rise or fall.
In a largely commoditized industry such as energy, it might seem like there’s little that utilities can do to win more business other than how they price their services. By definition, price is what commodities are based on, yet there are opportunities for energy utilities to break from the ranks and differentiate themselves by improving customer experience.
Even if sales growth is strong, it doesn’t necessarily translate into profitability growth. For many businesses, unexpected and difficult to forecast expenses, like utility costs can cause profits to sink.
A kilowatt-hour (kWh) and a kilowatt (kW) may sound like the same thing, but they’re not quite tomato-tomahto. While both are interrelated units of measurement, the important difference between kWh and kW is that a kWh reflects the total amount of electricity used, whereas a kW reflects the rate of electricity usage.
All C&I properties face a quandary: energy costs constitute a significant recurring expense (~10% of total operating expenses), but are they enough to justify the investment in energy efficiency systems and remediation? Will the ROI be great enough and quick enough to make up the initial capital outlay? The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) notes, “An important goal of efficiency policies and programs is to help minimize these upfront project costs so owners are encouraged to invest in energy efficiency improvements and significant retrofits.” Well, there are programs from both government and utilities that will help ameliorate both upfront and ongoing costs, making investing in energy efficiency a winning prospect.
Many customers know that they are billed separately for on-peak and off-peak energy consumption, but many do not know the impact these periods have on their monthly energy costs. Depending on the host utility and distribution rate assigned, certain demand and consumption charges apply to on-peak consumption but do not apply to off-peak consumption.
Behind the scenes of your electricity typically lies a complex web of public and private energy companies that produce and distribute power that ultimately arrives at your business through power lines. While it may seem like just your utility company is responsible for delivering your power, these utility companies are connected to large regional power grids, which are the power lines and related equipment that move power from one point to another.
Utilities indicate on their bill whether a meter reading is actual or estimated. Readings can be estimated if the interval meter installed had difficulty transmitting the usage to the host utility, or if the meter was not read on a scheduled basis.
When looking at your utility bill, if you notice that all your demand charges are based on kW, then skip this post does not apply to you. However, if you notice that your demand charges are based on kVA or kVAR, then keep on reading! Power Factor is the difference between kW and kVA.