Vector chief executive Patrick Strange has said that the joint venture is a way of providing an extra service to customers. Stream charges start at about $50 a month for a meter. Users are charged between $5 and $10 each time they download meter information from the website.
Wayne Inger, of The Warehouse, says the retail chain began to see an almost immediate pay-back after installing the service. Conservation and energy efficiency are high on the list of the company’s commitments, he says, and savings in energy costs have a direct impact on the bottom line.
“This is particularly important in the tough world of retailing”.
In one store the lines charges had suddenly doubled from the previous month. The Warehouse was able to go to the website and review its profile over previous months to see just exactly what had changed. It turned out that the lines company had over estimated the maximum demand changes. When The Warehouse pointed out that the increase was inconsistent with its load profile, the increase was reversed.
In another store that was in a mall it became apparent after the new meters were installed that power bills were about 6 per cent lower. It was found that the previous mall meter was faulty.
Mr Inger says there are many more instances like this that have saved the company considerable money. “When you have a number of stores around the company it’s important to be able to get a big picture of what’s happening so that you can control the electricity costs”.
With more new stores planned “We can look at a similar store on the website and then ensure that the right infrastructure is in place relative to demand — from having the right fuses and cables through to the right main switch. As a result our initial capital outlay is less and we have the benefit of not being charged for higher capacity lines”.
Benchmarking stores is a major benefit, as will be the ability to compare electricity consumption from year to year. The Warehouse recently switched retailers and found it a much easier process with meters that were independent of either retailer.
“When we re-tender we will have all the information we need from our previous year’s records to be able to get accurate quotes and even look the pricing on aspects such as a typical summer’s or winter’s day”.
Allied Foods, best known for its Tip Top bread range, is another user of the Stream service. Each of its different production cycles consumes high levels of electricity.
At most of its plants the company’s part of the electricity tariff is based on its highest peak in its monthly loan profile so the challenge is to bring the peaks down.
It has installed the Stream Information meters at all of its major sites. Its engineering manager, Brian Wilson, was monitoring the Tip Top site’s electricity consumption via the website recently when he noticed an anomaly in the reading.
“We were able to trace it to the power factor controller which had frozen the control aspect,” he says. “While maintaining an acceptable read out, the controller indicated that we had a good power factor, when in fact it was poor. We had the power-factor equipment repaired and recalibrated to take care of the problem”.
Allied Foods has also teamed up with other companies to form an electricity buying group. Next time the group goes out to tender it believes Tip Top will be in an excellent position to get the best prices.
“Initially we adopted the Stream service to maximise our position in the next round of pricing negotiations. Being able to calculate the impact of power costs on projects and better management of the power factor is the icing on the cake”.
Helping You Save Power
The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) budgeted close to $2.5 million to drive its 10 per cent power savings “challenge”.
EECA has put together a range of Energy-Wise business publications on the issue.
Electrosafe.co.nz is another EECA site which gives energy-saving tips around the home.
The New Zealand Electricity Market’s website tracks daily electricity savings.
Links:
Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority
Electrosafe
New Zealand Electricity Market
Contact Energy
Meridian Energy
Genesis Energy
Vector
First Electric
TrustPower
Power to the People Supplement
