Volatility has returned to energy markets for the first time in 3 or 4 years. We are only 12 days into the New Year, but it has already been a bumpy ride for energy markets. The cold weather that has periodically hit the country since the end of December sent power and gas markets into […]
That’s the tag line that my 8 year old gave to our new on-line information service, The MWh University. It’s catchy and it is the goal of our series of courses. Short, sweet, and straight forward just the way it should be. Who? The MWh University is designed for energy managers and financial decision makers […]
This post is another in our series intended to shed light on the differences between suppliers and the impact those differences may have on you, the commercial, institutional or industrial customer. Prior posts in the series include: Energy cost management: Supplier differences-product offerings, Energy cost management: Supplier differences – contract terms, Top 10 energy cost management questions: […]
Energy prices determine as much as 40-60% of the price you pay for electricity. No matter whether your business strategy is to fix all of your costs or maintain some exposure to index prices (day-ahead, usually), knowing historical and forecasted pricing should be important to you. The only way to forecast index pricing is to […]
As we just posted last week in an article titled Fact or Fiction: There is no difference between suppliers, there can be significant differences between suppliers that will result in meaningful price differences when you get quotes from various suppliers. There can be a whole range of reasons for those differences, like: Supplier risk appetite […]
All electricity supply prices are the same, right? All suppliers serving a given region should price the same way, get their wholesale power the same way and will give me basically the same price, correct? The only difference I should see, as a buyer, is the difference in the supplier’s margin, or fee, right? And […]
What are the key performance metrics that you should track in order to best track and manage your energy costs? What key levers can you pull that will make the biggest difference in managing energy costs? Here are the key metrics that we measure and that we recommend that our customers track. Cost per significant […]
Utility-scale battery storage is taking a big step forward this week according to a Bloomberg article titled “Tesla’s Battery Revolution Just Reached Critical Mass: Three new plants in California show how lithium-ion storage is ready to power the grid.” The promise of battery storage extends beyond utility-scale programs to large commercial & industrial clients as well. […]
2016 Energy Markets in Review By almost every measure, energy market activity in 2016 was not eventful. Through the majority of the year (first 9 months), markets were characterized by a lack of volatility in both the index and forward markets. In Q4 2016, forward market volatility returned, although the increase in volatility is relative […]
Is energy budgeting tricky? More of an art than a science? There are 3 essential tools that higher ed clients, hospitals, and budget-conscious energy buyers should employ as you plan for the 2017/2018 budget cycle. 1. Know what happened last year. Energy markets in 2016. On a macro level, the early party of 2016 saw consistent […]