What does data, transformed into actionable information, do for you, the business or institutional energy buyer?

There is a lot of talk and a lot written about what Big Data can do for business and consumers. A Stanford economist interviewed about the potential for Big Data had interesting insights about the possibilities for Big Data. You can read that article here.

The economist, Susan Athey of Stanford University, closes the interview by saying:

Any industry could be the next one to rethink and innovate in a dramatic way.

The energy industry collects and processes enormous amounts of data, but has lagged others in using these data to improve customer buying processes and decision making.  Transportation and airlines have surpassed energy in their ability to put data to work for users, consumers, and businesses. In the energy industry, business and institutional customers would settle for even a little data, because a little data is a lot more than what you have had access to in the past.

Business customers tell us that you’ve been making energy decisions based on gut instinct, or a hunch that someone else has provided you. “Looks like now is the time to buy….” “Looks like you’ll do best on a fixed price…”

Imagine if decisions were data-driven, instead of hunch-driven? Imagine if you could use actual market data to make the better, safer, stronger decision for your business?

Here’s what MWh customers have learned from working from data instead of instinct:

• A University received a MWh market alert to renew their July contract during a February price dip. That renewal meant they could lock in a contract early. The result? Their actual, locked in contract would deliver 15% lower costs than they expected when they created their budget forecast. That’s data-driven expense reduction.

• A coop in Riverdale, NY learned that their current supplier was not saving them money against the utility default rate when the client signed an index contract that promised savings. The coop learned that they paid 40% more. Just switching to a different supplier has shaved significant costs from their expense budget. That’s data-driven value.

• A commercial real estate company that had been buying their electricity supply through either a broker or consultant for over a decade learned from the MWh platform that the purchase they’d been making for their base-building accounts had been subsidizing their tenant’s electricity costs. That’s data-driven cost-reductions to ownership.

• MWh clients see the cost data that is behind supplier price quotes.  They receive alerts about when to buy—they can confirm that they are getting the market-based price  at the right point in time. That’s data-driven peace of mind.

Bottom line for businesses: Don’t settle for hunches, theories or instinct. A little data goes a long way to helping you meet your energy cost management goals—shaves costs, gives you peace of mind, improves your decision making.