Taking a closer look at your company’s utility bill can remove some of the mystery around your monthly energy costs. Understanding your bill is the first step in understanding how your facilities use energy. In turn, understanding how your facilities use energy helps understand how that energy usage costs your company money.
Different utility companies have different rate structures. The rate structure you have from your utility company can mean a big difference in dollars saved for the same amount of energy saved. Within whatever rate structure you have, there should be ways to reduce your energy costs by adjusting the way you use energy and when.
The first thing I do when working with a client is review several months of their utility bills. This shows me how they have been using energy and the associated energy rates. I also compare a client’s utility history with the weather data from that same time period, which provides additional insight into usage patterns.
Once there is a baseline for how a client is using energy, there is the opportunity to develop suggestions for reducing energy usage that gives the client the most bang for their buck.
1. Account Number – Your account number is your key identifier and can provide information such as being opted into rebate programs.
2. Additional Services – Your utility provider may be charging you for additional services that could be modified or cancelled.
3. Meter Number – Identifying the meters that are connected to your account to make sure that you understand how the information from those meters is used to charge you the bill each month.
4. Billing Details – Insight into your energy usage and how that usage results in your monthly charges. Did you know that depending on your rate, that you could be billed for a higher demand then what you used in that month.