CASE STUDY: How holistic energy management saved these businesses thousands

Name: Choice Energy | Giving power back to business
Telephone: 1300 304 448

May 11th, 2021

Many refer to Choice Energy as a comprehensive business energy firm, but what does this actually mean for a business like yours?

Simply put, Choice Energy provides dedicated expert energy expertise and management, delivered in combination with a complementary range of solutions to help businesses lower their energy costs and reduce their reliance from a volatile energy market.

These services include competitive energy procurement, metering and monitoring, power factor correction and high quality commercial solar.

Below, we’ve collated some of our diverse case studies across multiple industries to give you insight into what this means in dollars and cents for businesses just like yours.

If you do a good job around here, people remember you for it. We have introduced Choice Energy to other businesses in the Benalla region. We know we aren't the only business in the area feeling the pinch of rising energy bills
Guy Mounsey, Sales Manager Ryan & McNulty

Ryan and McNulty - Solar, energy procurement and SHIELD metering and monitoring

Located in Northeast Victoria, Ryan & McNulty has been operating for 60 years across three generations. Since its beginnings, it has been providing quality timbers for flooring, cladding and decking products.

After taking the time to review the business’ energy bills, Choice Energy helped procure new retail electricity contracts, including the securing of forward pricing well before huge market increases. This alone saved Ryan & McNulty $186,000 over a three-year period.

Ryan & McNulty also opted for SHIELD metering and monitoring services so Choice Energy could validate their monthly bills while monitoring their consumption and load profile. The value of the service was quickly proven as it allowed us to transition them to a different network tariff, saving them a further $6,500 per year.

The business later invested in a 320kW solar system, making it the largest solar installation in the Benalla region and reflecting their high energy needs. As a result, their timber yard is now generating 1MW of solar per day and about half a million kWh of clean energy power per year.

Fabbris Smallgoods - Solar, Power Factor correction, Energy Procurement, Network Tariff and Demand Analysis.

Aimed at the gourmet consumer, Fabbris Smallgoods is a leading manufacturer of Australian Pork. It distributes products across Australia and New Zealand. Headquartered out of their processing facilities in Campbellfield, the business’ need for electricity and peak demand loads is extremely high due to their need for 24-hour refrigeration and an abundance of processing equipment.

After working with Choice Energy for over three years and achieving savings of over $100,000 per year through contract negotiation and network reassignment alone, they wanted to investigate the business case for reducing the business’ reliance on the grid.

Running 24- hour refrigeration as well as an abundance of processing equipment meant Fabbris were forced to find a solution to offset rising costs. The task was on Choice Energy to identify further solutions in the face of rising costs, that allowed them to continue to grow and thrive as a business.

The Choice Energy solar team ran a solar feasibility assessment and identified significant savings by installing a turnkey 60kW commercial solar system, despite the limited roof space of the building.

Alongside this, the business will save more through a bespoke power factor correction system, which was installed to reduce peak loads that often exceeded 400kVa.

Through these solutions, the Fabbris Smallgoods owners can be confident that the increases in the wholesale cost of power and their network charges won’t impact their bottom line to the same extent.

Costa’s Mitre 10 and Gympie Mitre 10 in Monkland

With Choice Energy’s vast experience in retail and hardware, both Costa’s and Gympie Mitre 10 Monkland benefited greatly from a multi prong approach to using less and paying less for energy.

For Costa’s Mitre 10, it was determined the business could reduce its impact through solar on its roof, saving in excess of $20,000 per year. The client’s dedicated account manager then ran a tender that found a further $9,600 in savings, plus a network tariff saving of $21,000 per year.

For Gympie Mitre 10 in Monkland, their soaring energy costs were peaking at $10,000 per month with no relief in sight. We undertook a detailed analysis of the store’s energy usage and identified the need for a turnkey 100kW solar system, bringing costs down by around $53,000 per year. In conjunction a 123kVar power factor correction unit was installed to reduce the retail, network, market operator, and environmental charges on the account.

We worked with Choice Energy on our Gympie and Kingaroy stores and we’ve been extremely pleased with the savings we’ve seen to date. The team have also been fantastic to work with.
Travis Cunnane CEO, Sunshine Mitre 10

Lago Quality Smallgoods - Energy procurement, Power Factor Correction, Network Tariff and Demand Analysis

The Lago brand and their pizza cotto and salami ranges can be found in all discerning pizza and Italian cuisine establishments. The business also provides hotels, restaurants, cafes, bistros and boutique butchers with their comprehensive Lago brand of products.

Concerned about rising energy costs, the directors enlisted Choice Energy to undertake an analysis of the business’ energy bills and identify savings opportunities.

Carefully monitoring the energy market, we were able to lock in electricity retail contracts before a significant rate increased, saving Lago Quality Smallgoods $42,300 per year on energy bills.

Parallel to this, we also built a consumption and load profile of the energy the business was using. By collecting data and submitting an evidence-based application, Lago’s dedicated Choice Energy account manager was able to renegotiate a better tariff from their network provider, saving a further $19,000

As a final expert checkpoint, a power factor correction unit for the business, in an effort to reduce the demand from its network provider . This demand reduction resulted in an annual saving of $16,300.

IGA Rainbow - Commercial solar and energy procurement

IGA Rainbow is an independent grocery store that supplies the north-western Victorian town of Rainbow and surrounding areas. With a recent expansion to their site resulting in projected rising energy demand, IGA Rainbow’s electricity distributor was imposing an eye-watering $90,000 upgrade cost.

After undertaking an in-depth solar feasibility assessment, we determined a 50kW solar system would help the store save close to $16,000 per year on energy, which means the business could avoid the $90,000 upgrade cost completely. The Choice Energy team was also able to secure a projected $32,000 to help the business fund the system.

To further these savings, we also reached out to our network of up to 16 energy retailers to procure a competitive rate on a new electricity contract. Thanks to the client’s dedicated Choice Energy account manager, this transfer to the new energy retail contract was facilitated prior to the expiry date, to avoid IGA Rainbow’s contract defaulting to a far higher rate (default rate risk).

With our 360 view on energy management and efficiency, there is no requirement from you as a business owner to understand your needs beyond reducing your energy bills or carbon footprint. Instead, we act as your Energy Management team, providing expert insight into opportunities without you lifting a finger. If saving more and paying less for energy sounds like a must for your business in the face of rising costs, reach out to our team today on 1300 304 448 or contact us here.

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