Imagine yourself in a room full of bicycles. You need one, but you’re not sure which is the best option for you. If you know something about bicycles, you have a better time of it, but if you don’t, it can be daunting and, most of the time, you end up buying the one that’s cheapest.
When it comes to energy, we all know that we need it: electricity to power our homes and businesses and gas to heat them. But let’s face it, most of us couldn’t be bothered knowing all the ins and outs of the energy industry, and we may not even have the time to learn about it. And what happens when you don’t know something well enough? You risk making the wrong choice.
Each one of us aims to be an expert in something, whether that be for a hobby or for a career. You, for example, may be a master cheesemaker. You know which milk is best, to which temperature it needs to be brought, what needs to be added to it to make it this cheese or that, and how long that cheese needs to sit. And you know that you need electricity to make it.
But all you know about electricity is that it comes through the plug and that before that it probably came from the power plant in the next town. As long as it’s pumping through and your equipment works, you’re happy.
Until the invoices start going up.
Maybe you’re using more (you did just get that large order from a posh London restaurant) or maybe something has gone off with your contract, but you don’t have time to deal with it, you’ve got cheese to make!
Along comes an energy consultant. He knows energy as well as you know caseiculture. He follows the markets, he works with all of the suppliers, and he knows how you can use your electricity and gas in the best way for your business. He takes a look at your invoices, even past ones, and he sees that not only have you been on out of contract rates for the past six months (“That’s what that call about renewals was about,” you remember), but also your readings have been estimated for a while now. It will take some time to sort it all out. The consultant is there to help. After all, they have the time and the expert knowledge.
So, you go back to making the Cheddar or the Stilton or the Dovedale, and your energy consultant gets to sorting out your energy bills. He finds you a supplier who offers a great long-term contract, and he sets up a SMART meter so that you never have to worry about estimated invoices again. In fact, your previous ones were overestimated, so you even get some money back. And here you were, wondering where you’d get the money for more modern equipment.
This is a simple, yet all-too-common scenario. Energy consultants know what to do to get you the best deal and the best options for improving your energy use. They probe through all the choices out there for your business and find what works best. It’s not just about getting the cheapest deal.
It’s simple: you save time by letting someone else take care of your energy because they know what they’re doing.
Think about it this way, what if that energy consultant decided to make his own cheese without a scrap of knowledge.
