Clifford Talbot Partnership has been providing Utility Bureau Services to a large plastics factory in the Midlands for the past 2 years. We have saved our client time and money and enabled them to focus on their business priorities by:
When we first started working with the client, there was already a fixed supply contract in place for the next 12 months. Clifford Talbot Partnership monitor the wholesale electricity market on a daily basis, and based on the position of the market we recommended that our client agree their next supply contract at that time, to start 12 months later.
This proved to be an excellent recommendation – by the time that the contract would usually be arranged (1-2 months before the end date), the wholesale market had risen by 41%. By arranging the contract so far in advance the client avoided a cost increase of £55k; this is in addition to the savings of £8k achieved through negotiations with suppliers during the competitive tender exercise.
As a regular part of our service, when we started working on these accounts we obtained copies of historical invoices for the past 5 years and checked these for any errors, as well as assessing savings opportunities.
As our client is in the plastics industry this was a complex exercise, due to the variety of industry level agreements in place over the years which resulted in discounted rates for the Climate Change Levy. Any issues identified were resolved.
Clifford Talbot Partnership keeps up to date with industry changes through a large network of sources, and so when a new exemption scheme for industrial energy users was brought in, we were on the case. We liaised with our client and ran through the eligibility test for the Energy Intensive Industries (EII) exemption from renewable levies.
Although our client is in a relevant industry, unfortunately they did not qualify for exemption due to their energy usage profile. However, they were secure in the knowledge that no stone was being left unturned by Clifford Talbot Partnership.
From invoices and consumption data, Clifford Talbot Partnership noted that Power Factor penalty charges were being applied on one of the electricity supplies. The penalties were resulting in a significant annual cost, and the reduced efficiency of the electrical equipment as a result were also a concern. We raised this issue to the client and gave professional advice on how this problem could be resolved.
We provide our clients with online access to their electricity consumption data, which is recorded for every half hour of the day. This information is available just 1 day after the period of consumption, and so they have access to detailed, up to date information.
As our client operates a factory, they can use this information to identify and eliminate unexpected spikes in consumption, monitor out-of-hours usage, and shift load to cheaper times of day. This is a powerful tool to optimise energy usage, with a dedicated account manager on hand to provide any assistance required.
The accounts team doesn’t need to commit time to resolving supplier queries, or to renewing their energy deals – they know that we will carry out all of this and secure the lowest rates available, whilst identifying and challenging any errors or overcharges.
Clifford Talbot Partnership continually review whether energy is being used in the most efficient way and this is fed back to the head engineer so that usage can be optimised.
In a challenging and changing industry, the client can focus exclusively on their business priorities and be confident that their utilities are in safe hands.