Forecasting energy consumption in a post-Covid world is proving to be a minefield for businesses.
When forecasting energy consumption Post-Covid, as business allow staff to remain working from home or extend operating hours to accommodate flexible working patterns for colleagues returning to the office the ability to forecast and manage energy spend has become a minefield.
Forecasting energy spend accurately requires insights into your business energy consumption patterns. Previously, business could forecast future consumption costs based on historic consumption patterns and trends. But in a post-Covid world, the historic patterns are unlikely to represent the future energy consumption patterns.
Our CEO Chris Hurcombe explains how having visibility of energy spend can help businesses overcome this hurdle and better forecast energy consumption and spend.
There are very few industries unaffected by COVID-19, one the biggest issues for all businesses in a post-Covid world is the ability to future forecast with any certainty. In the energy sector particularly, forecasting is important and post-Covid it’s making this a minefield for businesses.
Businesses big and small all face the same challenge as they look to manage their energy spend in post-Covid times. Customers want to understand their costs, but with people working from home, closed sites or simply an adjustment to things like air conditioning to meet Covid-secure requirements, it’s very hard to understand what that means for budgeting and forecasts.
Forecasting energy consumption based on historic, pre-Covid data could unearth a myriad of financial losses for businesses. It all comes back to data, but given the lasting impact of Covid, last year’s half hourly data no longer provides any basis for next year’s consumption. So, businesses now need much more granular, real-time data from their sub-metering and building management systems rather than rely on out of date half hourly data from suppliers.
Otherwise businesses will find themselves paying increasingly large premiums instead of gaining efficiencies. They do not have to accept that as the ‘new normal’.
To help businesses better forecast, budget and procure utilities, we have developed EaaSi, a smart utilities management platform. It automatically pulls together end-to-end utility data into a single place, removing the need for human intervention and massively reducing resource requirements for contract management.
The EaaSi platform also enables accurate budget forecasts, visibility on accruals, benchmarking against market rates for flexible contracts, and will simplify procurement for both end users and suppliers. It also delivers energy and carbon reporting at the touch of a button, drastically reducing administrative burdens.
Businesses need to act now to access and have visibility of their energy data to identify opportunities for managing energy spend in post-Covid times and have a better handle on future energy budgets and costs.
EaaSi is the UK’s only cloud based integrated digital platform to fully automate and validate your energy spend management across all departments, locations and energy output feeds. EaaSi uses RPA to provide a fully automated energy spend management platform delivering insights to businesses on utility bills and the data associated to your meter end points instantaneously.
About Catalyst Commercial Services
Catalyst is a market leading independent energy consultancy that provides energy procurement, sustainability and environmental services. Catalyst is one of the leading providers of utility purchasing and contract negotiation services to the commercial sector. With over 15 years’ experience in this dynamic market, the team of energy market professionals provide a full options appraisal for business utility contract needs.
