Empower your Business: Unleashing the potential of energy service plans

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The idea that you should “play to your strengths and delegate the rest” is a pearl of business wisdom.  It captures the idea that a business should focus on its core competencies and outsource more specialized tasks—like managing complex electrical infrastructure—to those with the skills and expertise to do so. This ensures optimal performance without distraction.

This longstanding advice speaks directly to the growing field of energy service plans. Many companies are dealing with a shrinking workforce, wondering how to meet regulations, or need help finding electrical bugs inside their operations. Partnering with specialized energy management service providers allows companies to trust the complexities of energy management to dedicated professionals. Those professionals can ensure the electrical infrastructure is always safe, maintained, and optimized. Their services allow companies to zero in on what they do best – their primary operations – and thrive, innovate, and grow in their respective markets.

Compelling reasons for opting-in to an energy service plan

Energy service plans have a compelling business case. Utilizing them can provide significant cost savings, enhanced energy efficiency, sustainability benefits, and effective risk management. In fact, large companies can save millions of dollars annually with a sustained reduction of 3.5% in energy spend. One oil refinery saved $120 million in the first year.  

Beyond financial savings and optimized infrastructure, many energy service plans also include provisions for adopting cutting-edge technologies. This includes smart grids, energy management and control solutions, and power quality systems. These technologies improve efficiency, reduce costs, and support innovative business practices.

They may also incorporate renewable energy options like solar and wind power, vital for sustainability strategies. These renewable options can underscore a company’s commitment to environmental stewardship and reinforce its green credentials. In turn, this often attracts environmentally conscious customers and positively impacts the business’s market position.

Energy service plans can also help address the uncertainty caused by government initiatives to reduce carbon emissions. These initiatives often leave companies unsure of the implications for their operations. This confusion is precisely where long-term, sustained energy services prove their worth. By providing multi-year support, energy experts can demystify these initiatives, craft tailored strategies, and guide companies toward compliance and sustainability.

Many energy-specific service plans on the market are designed to optimize energy efficiency, sustainability, and electrical infrastructure. I’ve outlined the benefits of each to help you identify which plan would best suit your business needs. 

The diverse spectrum of energy service plans

Service plans help businesses enhance operational efficiency, reduce energy costs, ensure system reliability, and achieve sustainability objectives. And they can tackle a broad spectrum of needs:

1. Energy management and optimization: These plans include 24/7 monitoring and alarming. Fast response times help businesses monitor, measure, and manage their energy consumption. They also include IoT-enabled solutions for intelligent energy use.
2. Power management: To ensure reliable and efficient power distribution, power management services can involve power quality audits and sizing, power factor correction, harmonics mitigation, and voltage regulation.
3. Data analytics: By tapping into a company’s energy management system, these service plans can identify everything from improperly installed equipment and missing loads to power factor penalty problems.
4. Automation and control: This plan can cover everything from simple control systems to advanced automation for entire buildings or industrial processes.
5. Sustainability consulting: These plans provide services to help businesses set and meet their sustainability goals. They include guidance on reducing carbon footprint and transitioning to renewable energy sources.
6. Cybersecurity: Cybersecurity services protect the integrity and reliability of energy management systems, by safeguarding them against digital threats.
7. Digital services: Digital twin technology and analytics provide insight and foresight into energy consumption and system performance. This helps businesses anticipate and solve issues before they occur.
8. Maintenance and support: Condition-based maintenance, remote monitoring, and 24/7 support ensure that energy systems run optimally – helping prevent costly downtime.
   
   

Technological adaptability, data sovereignty, and scalability

In addition to determining the right type of energy service plan for your needs, it is also necessary to consider aspects that play a critical role in implementation, such as:

1. Interoperability: Energy management systems must integrate smoothly with existing infrastructure and other business systems and use open standards to facilitate integration and avoid vendor lock-in.
2. Regulatory compliance: Local, regional, and global energy regulations must be considered. Ensuring compliance can prevent legal issues.
3. Customization: It is critical to tailor solutions to meet specific operational needs and adjust as they change.
4. Expert support: Access to experts who can support and advise for managing and optimizing energy use is invaluable.
5. Cost management: To make an informed decision, one must understand the total cost of ownership. This includes the upfront investment, operational costs, and potential savings over time.
6. Future-proofing: Acknowledging that technology changes and market conditions will evolve, it is important to choose a service that can adapt to new technologies, such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, as they enter the mainstream.

Still on the fence about services?

If uncertainty is holding you back from opting into an energy service plan, consider this: the depth of expertise provided by expert energy services professionals is beyond the reach of individual businesses. Engaging a company specializing in energy service plans solves immediate problems and equips you with the knowledge and tools to maintain an optimized energy system.

Schneider Electric has over a century of power and energy management expertise and excels in the complex energy ecosystem. Learn how Schneider Electric can provide the right services to match your business and operational objectives and help drive business success.