Introduction
Energy markets can be volatile and complex, making it difficult for businesses without dedicated in-house expertise to navigate them effectively. From selecting a procurement strategy that balances risk with reward, to uncovering hidden savings in your historical billing data, partnering with a commercial energy consultant can help businesses take greater control of their energy costs.
But what exactly does a commercial energy consultant do, and how can they support your business?
In this guide, we explore the role of an energy consultant, the key energy challenges businesses are facing today, and weigh up whether investing in energy consultancy services could deliver value for your business.
What Energy Challenges Do Businesses Face?
For businesses today, having an effective energy strategy is about more than simply signing a contract with a supplier. Understanding your energy can be tricky and is made even more difficult when you factor in complex, large-scale business operations, multiple sites, sustainability pressures and the ever-changing nature of the energy market.
Some common energy challenges that businesses face include:
- Market volatility – Energy markets are volatile by nature, with sharp spikes and dips being driven by supply and demand, geopolitical events and extreme whether events caused by climate change. This can have a knock-on effect for businesses trying to plan their budgets and procurement strategies.
- Rising costs – Increasing energy costs can put significant pressure on business budgets, particularly for organisations with high or multi-site energy consumption. Without the right procurement strategy and ongoing cost management, rising energy prices can have a direct impact on operating costs and profitability. In fact, according to the British Chambers of Commerce, 27% of businesses are struggling to pay their energy bills, with this number jumping to 35% of manufacturing businesses.
- Inaccurate billing – Managing energy bills across multiple sites, meters and contracts can be complex, and billing errors can easily go unnoticed. Incorrect meter readings, estimated consumption, duplicated charges or discrepancies can all lead to businesses paying more than they should. Over time, even small errors can add up to significant costs.
- Sustainability goals – As we draw closer to the UK government’s net zero goals, the pressure is on for businesses to make their own pledges and commitments. A large part of business sustainability involves having an energy strategy that minimises consumption and reduces carbon emissions, supporting the transition towards a lower-carbon future.
- Lack of energy insight – For many businesses, not having the right insights or understanding of their energy costs is holding them back from identifying inefficiencies, controlling costs and making informed decisions about their energy strategy. Without clear visibility of consumption patterns, billing data and market trends, it can be difficult to know where savings can be made, or which changes could have the greatest impact.
What Does a Commercial Energy Consultant Do?
Commercial energy consultants work with businesses to develop tailored strategies that help them manage their energy more effectively, control costs and make more informed decisions about their energy use. Rather than focusing on a single energy contract or one-off saving, a consultant takes a more detailed view of your business, looking at everything from procurement and billing to consumption, efficiency and sustainability.
Energy consultancy services differ from those of an energy broker. Whilst brokers primarily focus on comparing the market and helping businesses secure or switch to an energy contract, consultants typically take a longer-term approach.
A commercial energy consultant can look beyond choosing a contract and consider how businesses can effectively manage their energy over the long-term. This can involve reviewing your energy data and billing, identifying opportunities for savings and efficiency improvements, and developing a strategy that can adapt as your business, energy requirements and the wider market change.
The Benefits of Working with a Commercial Energy consultant
The benefits of working with a commercial energy consultant are vast:
- A tailored strategy for your business – A good energy consultant will take the time to understand your business, your energy requirements and wider goals. This allows them to develop an energy strategy designed specifically for you, whether that’s reducing costs, managing risk, improving efficiency or meeting sustainability targets.
- Access to specialist expertise and insight – Energy consultants have dedicated teams with specialist knowledge of energy markets, procurement, billing and sustainability. They may also have access to industry data, market intelligence and analytical tools that can help you make better-informed decisions, that you may otherwise not be able to access.
- Save time and internal resources – Managing energy contracts, monitoring bills, analysing consumption and keeping on top of market movements can be time-consuming and complicated, but by outsourcing these responsibilities to a specialist, you can free up your internal resources and focus on other priorities.
- Reduce energy costs – By analysing your energy use, reviewing your contracts and identifying potential areas of energy waste or bill overpayment, a commercial energy consultant can help find opportunities to reduce your overall energy expenditure.
- Identify billing errors – Reviewing your energy bills and consumption data can help uncover incorrect charges, inaccurate meter readings and other discrepancies that may otherwise go unnoticed. Catching and rectifying these issues can prevent unnecessary costs from building up over time.
- Support sustainability goals – If your business is looking to reduce your environmental impact, an energy consultant can help develop a strategy focused on reducing your consumption and emissions.
Energy Consultancy Services and How They Can Support Your Business
There are many energy consultancy services available to choose from, whether you opt for a single solution, or design a longer-term strategy combining multiple services, partnering with an energy expert can help you identify the right approach for your business.
Some key energy consultancy services include:
- Procurement strategies – The right procurement solution can make or break your energy strategy. From straightforward fixed-price contracts with a supplier to more complex approaches that allow you to purchase specific volumes of energy at strategic points in time, an effective procurement strategy helps you respond to market movements, manage costs, and reduce risk.
- Bureau and bill validation services – Energy bureau services equip businesses with support in managing the administrative and data-driven aspects of their energy portfolio. From invoice validation and bill processing to energy data management, reporting, and compliance, bureau services help remove administrative burden, make day-to-day energy management easier and provide more control over energy costs.
- Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) – PPAs are long-term agreements that enable businesses to buy renewable energy directly from a generator at an agreed price. By securing energy over an extended period, businesses can secure greater price certainty and progress towards their sustainability and net-zero goals.
- Cost recovery audits – Cost Optimisation and Recovery Audits (CORA) can help you recover overpayments, reduce future spend and ensure billing accurately reflects your energy usage. Your commercial energy consultant will conduct a detailed review of your contracts, invoices, supplier charges, and payment history and spot any errors, duplicates or discrepancies that may have gone unnoticed.
- Metering – Whether you’re starting a new project or upgrading an existing site with submeters, your energy consultant can help design and implement the right metering solution, to provide the best visibility into energy consumption to improve your energy performance.
- Sustainability services – If, like many businesses, sustainability is high on your agenda, many energy consultancy services can be tailored to prioritise your environmental objectives. From carbon reporting and net-zero strategies to renewable energy and energy efficiency initiatives, expert guidance can help you reduce emissions and work towards your goals.
How to Find a Trustworthy Commercial Energy Consultant
With so many commercial energy consultants offering their services, knowing who to trust can be challenging. The right consultant should offer more than a competitive energy quote, they should take the time to understand your business, any challenges you’re currently facing and your energy and sustainability goals for the future.
When choosing a commercial energy consultant, there are several things to consider:
- Experience and expertise- Look for a consultant with a strong understanding of the commercial energy market and experience working with businesses similar to yours. This can be particularly important if you have high energy consumption, multiple sites or complex energy requirements.
- Range of services: Consider exactly which areas you need support with. A good consultant may be able to support areas such as bill validation, energy data analysis, efficiency and sustainability, as well as procurement, to create a comprehensive energy management service.
- Ongoing support: Energy management shouldn’t stop once you’ve signed a new contract. Find out what support the consultant provides afterwards, such as monitoring bills, reviewing consumption and identifying further opportunities to reduce costs.
- Reputation: Reviews, testimonials, case studies and awards can provide useful insights into how a consultant works with its customers. Look for evidence of long-term relationships and tangible results rather than relying solely on claims of savings.
The best commercial energy consultant for your business will depend on your individual energy needs and objectives, and taking the time to understand what they offer and the kind of support they can provide is essential in finding the right energy partner.
Partner with the UK’s Most Trusted Energy Consultant and Start Saving Today
If you’re looking for a trusted energy parter to help you reach your goals, Consultus International can provide the expertise, insight and ongoing support you need to manage your energy more effectively.
We are an award-winning energy consultancy with over 30 years’ experience supporting organisations across 25 countries. The Consultus International Group comprises five specialist divisions, providing tailored expertise in energy procurement, risk management, market intelligence, bureau services, renewable technologies, and net zero strategy.
Consultus International has delivered £5.1m procurement savings, £815m cost avoidance and £2.5m cost recovery for our clients and were voted most trusted energy consultancy by TELCA in 2021and were named as a top 50 provider by Consultancy.uk.
If you’re ready to get started, or would simply like to further explore your options, get in touch with our team today.