Do you already ‘gotta guy’ for your gas and electric, or do you have the RIGHT guy?

The right guy is a licensed energy consultant that truly understands the complexities of the market, bring you updated information, solutions for today, and a plan for where energy is going tomorrow.

If you’re working with an unlicensed ‘guy’ who seems to know what he’s doing, you could be at tremendous risk. Selecting the right energy consultant can prevent your company from making some very costly mistakes.

Energy is one the largest expenses for buildings and companies. Working with a ‘guy’ who is not licensed is probably unqualified to be your energy consultant. Mistakes can lead to unfortunate results. Here are a couple of examples:

A park district had a ‘guy’ who had never performed a rate and tariff analysis on their accounts that he sold them gas and electric on. The park district eventually discovered that three gas accounts were on the wrong delivery tariff and they were losing $9,000 per year on delivery charges alone!

A government buyers group with over 100 schools and park districts thought they had the right ‘guy’ for 10 years. Their unlicensed ‘guy’ had negotiated them into a contract that was 40% higher than what it should have been. The members of this buyers group still don’t know his mistakes had cost them over $5 million per year for two years in electric costs alone by not competitively bidding the energy load. Their ‘guy’ also never disclosed to them that he was also an exclusive agent for a single supplier, in spite of the fact that disclosing this information is required by state law.

Mistakes such as these are hard to detect and as long as the lights are working and the heat is on, few people give any second thoughts to the energy costs. Most of these so-called energy ‘guys’ aren’t usually trying to rip anyone off–They simply don’t know any better.

9 Point Checklist

Use this checklist (or download a copy) to determine whether the Energy Consultant you are intending on working with, or may be with currently, has the right knowledge, experience and qualifications.

1. Does your guy competitively bid your energy? Usually, there is as much as a 20% differential between the high and low bids!
2. Does your guy prepare detailed budgets for your gas and electric every year?
3. Does your guy audit your bills to make sure of contractual compliance?
4. Does your guy perform a rate and tariff analysis to verify that you are on the correct delivery rate?
5. Does your guy review possible tax savings?
6. Does your guy monitor the market with your usage load profile to watch for opportunities to lock in future savings?
7. Does your guy benchmark your building’s and water usage to spot opportunities for savings?
8. Does your guy perform energy audits, energy efficiency improvements, and offer you renewable energy options? Can your guy perform energy upgrades with no upfront investment and let you pay for them out of the savings generated?
9. Does your guy have a history in the energy business for more than 10 years? Is he a licensed and bonded energy aggregator? Does your guy have a Certified Energy Procurement designation with the Association of Energy Engineers?

If your ‘guy’ doesn’t measure up on this 9-point checklist, you probably just gotta ‘guy’. Finding a highly qualified and experienced energy consultant is simply a sound business strategy. The potential risks of choosing someone who is unqualified to handle your energy needs are too high.