Most purchasing professionals are at least somewhat familiar with the energy procurement process.  And if you read this blog regularly, you probably know a little about energy procurement techniques such as monitoring the market and shopping around for the supplier offering the best prices and most favorable terms.

But what happens after the contract is signed?  Unfortunately, the answer is often “nothing.”  Many organizations seem to feel that once the actual “energy procurement” part of the job is done there’s nothing else to do.

In reality, nothing could be further from the truth: Even after the contract is signed, there are several things your organization can do to ensure that you don’t end up paying more than you should for energy.

Your organization worked hard to find an energy supplier and to lock in the best rates and most favorable terms.  Why stop there?  Read on for five proven ways to keep costs down long after the ink has dried on your contract.

1. Utility Bill Auditing.  In general, the more complicated something is, the greater the opportunity for errors. This is especially true in the case of energy suppliers who manage and invoice thousands of customers a month, with numerous rates and levels of complexity.  When it comes to billing, there’s a lot of room for human error – and that’s why it pays to invest in utility bill auditing services.   Utility bill auditing can be performed for any utility, whether deregulated or not – and it can help your organization identify billing errors and recover the costs associated with overpayment.

2.  Tariff Rate Analysis.  In regulated areas, utility companies take many items into account when developing rate structures and tariffs.  These items include energy usage, energy demand, purpose of usage, and type of meter. This means that electricity rates can vary based on the size, usage characteristics, and diverse electrical needs of their service territory, as well as many other factors.  (In deregulated areas, the rate structures and tariffs are determined by a separate provider – but they follow the same process and look at the same factors.)

In many cases, organizations have the ability to choose a rate structure that best fits their energy needs and goals. In general, the more electricity an organization uses, the more options they will have.  A comprehensive tariff rate analysis can help your organization review the available options and choose the most favorable rate structure.

3.  Demand Response Programs. Demand Response (DR) programs – sometimes called “curtailment programs” – provide organizations with ways to cut energy bills by voluntarily curbing use during peak seasons or high-usage times within an electric grid. Typically, large energy users who curtail usage receive incentive payments or reductions on their utility bills.

Not only can participating in a DR program help your organization generate a new revenue stream, but it can also safeguard your facility’s infrastructure from voltage fluctuations and alleviate stress on the electrical grid.  It’s also a great way to promote sustainability and “green” initiatives within your organization.

4.  Utility Bill Processing & Payment Services.  If your organization has ever been late with a utility payment, chances are good that it paid the price – literally.  Late fees can add thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional costs to your annual energy budget.

Utility bill processing services can ensure that late payments don’t happen – ever.  These services do more than simply pay your company’s electric bills:   They can take over mail handling and bill auditing, as well as expediting late notices and eliminating fees.  They can also manage data feeds and ensure compliance with clients’ proprietary systems and financial standards.  Another plus:  Many utility bill processing services allow you to bundle electricity, gas, and water under a single “umbrella” program – so you’d never have to worry about costly late fees for any of your organization’s utility bills.

In addition, most of these services offer in-depth, on-demand reporting mechanisms, such as bill analyses, transaction reports, and environmental reports.

5.  Energy Data Management.  Accurate data helps you build your organization’s energy budget; evaluate energy price forecasts; and plan and execute successful energy procurement contracts, which all lead to increased efficiency and long-term energy savings.

Improved energy data management can help your organization’s energy procurement professionals with data critical to a wide range of tasks, including:

– Developing energy budgets and forecasts
– Analyzing trends and variances
– Assessing contract performance
– Managing multi-site utility information

What’s more, accurate data will provide your organization’s financial coordinators with the numbers they need to monitor and analyze the budget, and energy managers will have the data they need to evaluate your organization’s energy efficiency.  Having good data is a win-win for everyone involved in energy management.

Cutting Energy Costs: A Job that Never Ends

While it’s true that much of the focus on energy savings falls on procuring the actual commodity and securing a low rate, there are a host of additional services and strategies that can be employed to provide additional savings.

In some cases, an organization can even create a new revenue stream while at the same time using less energy.  It will always pay to look at all options and potential solutions in order to ensure energy costs are controlled and reduced to every extent possible.