By PJ O’Connor, President, OC Reilly, Inc.
(May 22, 2023)—When energy markets deregulated in the 1990s, the gateway to savings appeared unlimited. In the ensuing decades, though, the science of calculating usage and available options met the art of building trusted relationships to find the most reliable path to achieving those potential savings. Businesses that ignored the need for both would come to feel the high of short-term savings, but the burden of poor long-term positioning and hidden costs.
In our experience at OC Reilly, we have developed a thorough process to assist customers – both in the health care industry and among customers across many industries – not only achieve price reduction, but to more importantly create a strategy to achieve and maintain consistent savings. We bring to the discipline of energy management the same advisory mindset that has served customers well in our supply chain management role.
It begins with establishing solid relationships that go beyond simply a transaction to find the cheapest energy option, sign a contract, and move on to the next customer. Instead, we work in tandem with our energy management customers to delve deeper into their history of energy demand and usage, analyzing their energy spend, researching alternative providers, establishing a process of budget forecasting, and developing a long-range plan to meet their needs while achieving peak cost efficiency. The bottom-line impact achieved in this space has been significant for our customers and proven both in the short and long term.
While most of our work to date has come in managing deregulated energy markets, the potential outside of the deregulated market, commonly referred to as the regulated components, is also ripe with opportunity. Not all states permit energy to be deregulated, and differences can be found in some instances concerning how natural gas and electricity are deregulated. Costly hurdles such as billing inconsistencies, charges incurred for missed information or procedures, confusing legal language in contracts, and more, come in play, as well.
We also understand the importance of meeting organizational goals around sustainability, or perhaps ESG practices. It’s critical to understand the intricacies of renewable energy sources to develop a plan that will have a real and positive impact on your community while also being practical for your organization.
Energy remains the common denominator for any enterprise, but the ways in which energy is sourced, invoiced, and paid for can differ greatly. The approach taken by our team has been proven successful in all circumstances across all industries.
As long as your business uses energy, a better solution to managing its use and cost is out there. Contact the professionals at OC Reilly to learn more.
© 2023 OC Reilly, Inc.