This summer, Connecticut gasoline prices could reach $3.50 per gallon, more than a dollar higher than current prices, according to a forecast from GasBuddy.com as reported in the New Haven Register.
The higher prices at the pump may seem like more of a personal matter, but it could end up affecting many businesses both directly and indirectly, such as higher company transportation costs, price increases from vendors to account for their own fuel costs and lower employee morale for those that drive to work and feel the pinch.
Rather than brushing aside these effects as unavoidable, businesses can take steps to counteract higher gas prices with better energy management.
Start with Best Practices on How to Save Energy
First, any gasoline-powered device can likely either be managed more efficiently or replaced with more efficient equipment. A company that relies on a car for deliveries, for example, should utilize fuel-efficiency best practices, such as properly inflating tires, which can improve gas mileage by as much as 3%, according to the Department of Energy.
Additionally, price increases could give you a better economic reason to replace equipment, such as moving to hybrid vehicles for a company that uses its own vehicles for shipping or more fuel-efficient generators for a company that runs outdoor events.
Look at Other Sources of Energy Consumption
Even companies that require a lot of gasoline can still account for price increases by looking into how to save electricity or other sources of energy.
As opposed to purchasing a fixed amount of gasoline to put into machines and seeing the price at the pump, other types of energy like electricity and natural gas are automatically purchased from a utility and supplied on-demand anytime you turn on the lights, stove, etc. As a result, the specifics of these purchases tend to be unknown to companies until they get their monthly utility bills.
Yet with energy analytics software (EAS), businesses can see specifically how different pieces of equipment and processes consume energy and at what cost, thereby allowing them to go beyond generalized best practices for energy efficiency. Instead, they can find ways to conserve energy specific to their organizations, create budgets and run cost/benefit analyses for equipment upgrade investments.
So, if a furniture store has to account for increased fuel costs when shipping to customers, for example, they can factor that in when creating their monthly budget within EAS and then see whether investments such as installing a more efficient air conditioning system would help them stay on budget in terms of monthly operating costs.
Making Energy Management Part of Your Overall Strategy
Higher gas prices can be frustrating for employees, particularly low-wage workers, as the cost of getting to and from work rises while their paycheck stays the same.
For businesses that can let employees work from home, they should consider being more flexible about this during periods of high fuel costs. Doing so helps employees save money, which can improve their experience, particularly if companies communicate that they understand employees’ concerns about this issue and want to help.
Plus, businesses can save energy, and therefore money, by letting employees work remotely, since energy prices can be much higher during the summer, and companies can track that using EAS. On a Friday in August, for example, which is likely to be a slow, unproductive day for many offices, it could make economic sense to close for the day and let employees work from home.
Even businesses that need their employees to be on-site, such as a restaurant, can help employees offset the higher price at the pump by encouraging employees to practice energy saving initiatives and offering a portion of the savings as a bonus.
These types of initiatives make energy more than just an expense to manage; instead it becomes part of a company’s overall strategy.
Request a complimentary energy efficiency assessment to find out how Artis Energy’s RTIS® energy analytics platform can provide you with the visibility and insight to transform energy from a fixed cost into a distinct competitive advantage.