Our Energy Services

Energy savings that are better together

What is It?
Several states have enacted legislation which empowers municipalities with the authority to negotiate electricity rates on behalf of its residents and small businesses. Electricity aggregation uses the collective bargaining power of residents to negotiate lower electricity supply rates from retail electric suppliers. This creates purchasing power and economies of scale resulting in electric prices much lower than any individual customer could get on their own.

How Does It Work?
A community interested in electricity aggregation must first place a referendum on the ballot asking voters to give the community authority to run an aggregation program. Once the referendum passes, residents will have an opportunity to provide feedback. After the most competitive supplier is selected and a contract is signed, all eligible residents and small businesses are automatically enrolled in the aggregation program unless they choose to opt out.

What Are the Benefits
Electricity aggregation programs increase supplier competition which results in reduced electricity prices for residents and small businesses. Overall these programs significantly impact local economies because communities with lower electricity costs result in more disposable income for consumers.

Case Study:
Electricity aggregation – residential electricity savings

Situation:
A group of Texas communities heard about savings opportunities associated with Electricity Aggregation and wanted to explore what the cities could do for their respective citizens.

Next steps:
SEC evaluate the opportunity on behalf of the municipality. SEC customer awareness strategy which focused on educating citizens about the advantages of Electricity Aggregation and engaged multiple mediums including radio, newspaper, customer forums, and direct contact. SEC gathered the data, created load profiles, obtained pricing from the supply community for evaluation, and through diligent analytics found the best offer for the group.

Result:
SEC uncovered savings of 34% for small business consumers and uncovered savings of 23% for citizens versus the utility tariff rate. A 2-year contract was signed which reduced electricity cost savings for the group of Texas communities.

We handle the details and strike the best deal

Reading through contracts can be extremely time-consuming, and all of the industry-specific terms and conditions in energy contracts can be confusing.

SEC use our expertise to help you understand contracts and secure fair terms with suppliers. SEC also handle special requests with an expert touch. The end result is the best possible contract customized for each individual client.

Case Study:
Savvy contract analysis saves big money
Client: Commercial Real Estate Client

Situation:
A commercial real estate client was purchasing a new asset and wanted to know if it should assume the asset’s existing electricity contact.

Solution:
We evaluated the existing contract and compared it against retail rates available in the marketplace. Our analytics team determined that the contract was underwater by $800,000 and recommended that the client decline to assume the current contract or negotiate a lower sales price. This analysis helped our client successfully negotiated a lower sales price on the purchase, resulting in huge savings.

Then, the day after the closing, we negotiated a “blend and extend” contract adjustment with the client’s current electricity supplier. This allowed our client to lock in an additional year on the contract. The result was savings of $300,000 over the term of the deal.

Accurate budgets that set you up for success

Our pricing and data analysts are experts at evaluating usage data and forecasting future energy expenses. We use this data to create month-by-month, line-item budgets that include both usage and expenses so that you avoid unforeseen budget variations.

We use the most up-to-date regulated delivery rates, combined with your contracted supply rate, to project a comprehensive view of your overall energy expenditures. These budgets have proven to be excellent tools that assist our clients in successfully managing their overall budget.

Case Study:
Finding the optimal purchasing strategy
Client: Asset Management Company

Situation:
An Asset Management client wanted to implement a national purchasing strategy for electricity, because of the perceived benefit of aggregating its entire portfolio.

Solution:
We conducted a request for proposal process for the client, and the results indicated that national suppliers were stronger in some areas versus others. Our analysis revealed that a regional approach would allow our client to select the best bid from the strongest suppliers in each region.

By including regional suppliers that have a market niche and better pricing in one region, but who would have not been included in a national purchasing strategy, we were able to maximize the value of the contract for our client.

Business certainty you can rely on

Energy markets are volatile due to factors including supply and demand, seasonality, regulatory developments, and environmental complexities. You can trust us to help you prepare for the unexpected in the energy marketplace.

Our team helps you understand all of these risk elements and potential price movements so that you can preemptively take action to capture available savings and avoid price increases. By developing and implementing a customized risk strategy, we help you manage risk so that you receive the business results and financial certainty you need.

Case Study:
Eliminating risk makes the sale

Client:
Commercial Property Owner

Situation:
A commercial property owner was in the process of selling a property, which had an energy contract of 5 cents per kWh. The potential property buyer was concerned that electricity costs would dramatically increase at the end of the contract.

Solution:
SEC worked with the existing supplier to structure a blended contract that mixed the existing 5 cents per kWh rate with forwarding market pricing. The result was a new long-term contract rate far below current market conditions. This comforted the buyer because he knew that the electricity rate was locked in below market prices for more than three years. That helped our client successfully sell the property. The result was a true win-win scenario for all parties involved.

Customized consulting that doesn’t stop

Our job is not done when you sign your energy contract. We stay in touch to ensure that your supplier invoices you correctly, and we are ready to help you resolve any issues that might arise.

Whether it’s due diligence services on a potential acquisition, working through the assignment process, or transitioning from one ownership entity to another, we’re here to help you. Let our established supplier relationships and expertise work to assist you in navigating these energy processes smoothly.

We routinely work with our clients to evaluate purchasing decisions through complex models, cost/benefit analysis, and sensitivity analysis specific to each situation. We tailor our energy expertise to meet your needs.

Our diligent post-contracting efforts have made us leaders in the energy consulting industry. Any time you have any energy-related questions, you can call us.

Case Study:
Avoiding trouble with expertise
Client: Industrial Facility

Situation:
An industrial client had an expiring contract, and the entire market was significantly higher than it was when the contract began. The client was looking at a $70,000 per year increase if it locked in a fixed rate at current market conditions and had not budgeted for such a large increase.

Solution:
After evaluating the client’s load profile and usage patterns and applied that profile to historic index energy rates. The results showed that there would be slight savings if the index performed exactly as they had for the previous 24 months. That knowledge, along with SEC’s insight that the wholesale market would decrease in the near future, led us to recommend that the client enters into an index contract with the ability to lock a portion of the electricity usage at any time.

Continued to monitor the wholesale market and advised the client when the wholesale market had decreased by 12 percent, and at that point, we helped the client lock in 30 percent of its energy usage. The results were savings of $40,000 versus the fixed rate at the end of the year and a greatly mitigated increase in the client’s budget that fiscal year.

Our eagle eye maximizes savings for you

Is now a good time to lock in a fixed rate? Are you looking to sign a contract at or under a certain price point? Are you interested in getting a snapshot of the rates available to your business? We have the expertise and the tools to monitor the market so that you get the advantage.

We use our market-monitoring processes to maximize savings by helping clients lock in the lowest possible prices time and time again.

Case Study:
Maximizing savings, minimizing risk
Client: Commercial Real Estate Firm

Situation:
A client that owned 850,000 square feet of commercial real estate wanted to develop a process for managing electricity procurement expenses on an ongoing basis.

Solution:
We took time to understand the client’s goals and objectives, gathered all the available data, and constructed a plan to constantly monitor market conditions. We also implemented a risk management platform to provide alerts when market conditions moved outside of a predetermined range.

Over the past four years, the client saved $120,000. The results prove the effectiveness of this customized program.

Saving energy as well as money

SEC does more than help you lower energy costs. We care about reducing our carbon footprint and we can help you find cleaner energy solutions so that you can “go green.”

We help you achieve your corporate sustainability goals. We can help you pursue LEED certification and also purchase Green-e certified Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) or carbon offsets.

The result is a sustainable energy plan, both for your business and for our planet.

Saving money at home

SEC brings the same approach to our residential clients that our commercial clients are accustomed to. If you’d like to save money on your home electric bill, we can find electricity savings options for you. We negotiate offers with select suppliers to give residential customers the best rates.

Your choices include a flat, “blanket” rate or custom prices generated based upon your usage. Both options offer great savings versus current utility rates.

Case Study:
The right solution at the right time
Client: Condo Association

Situation:
A condo association that had recently taken over from its developer had a unique situation in that their capacity values were significantly less than actual kilowatt demand.

Solution:
We recommended that the association enter into a long-term contract to lock in capacity values at the lower levels before they reset the following year. By following our expert recommendation to lock in a rate at a specific time, the association saved more than $130,000.