Sunday 21 July 2013
Energy management crucial to dealing with volatile costs
There is a pressing need for UK businesses to improve their energy management as they struggle to deal with the “triple challenge” of volatile energy costs.
That’s according to Mike Hogg (pictured), Managing Director at DONG Energy Sales (UK), who said boardrooms continue to face pressures related to policy and finance.
He said: “With UK unemployment standing at 7.8% and average pay rises falling to a record low of 0.9%, according to the latest Office of National Statistics figures, there is a forensic focus on new business, service delivery to retain and ensure repeat business and more widely on the core strategy to help best shake off the Eurozone debt crisis that has loomed since 2009.”
He added it is easy for boardrooms to treat energy management as simply a “nice to have”, however, given that energy costs have risen 40% since 2010, it forms a substantive part of any businesses’ bottom line and could affect business viability, particularly in energy intensive industries.
Mr Hogg continued: “Companies need to ensure they take a holistic view of how to use energy effectively and green their footprint, whilst fitting into the overall cost and management portfolio. Energy usage should be addressed regularly within a mandated framework as taking an ad hoc, reactionary approach can leave businesses vulnerable to challenges such as price volatility.
He suggested the next step for businesses is to be "proactive" about the data collection aspect of energy management which will help establish beneficial "purchasing and usage strategies".
Mr Hogg added: "With technological advances, such as smart metering and automated meter reading, this has never been easier for businesses. Understanding how we use energy is the first step to managing it. More importantly, monitoring energy usage can help turn this triple challenge into a triple opportunity for businesses to save, secure and comply.”
Last week new rules and guidance to ensure customers receive a high standard of service when getting a smart meter installed were launched.
