IGA Penhurst made an instant $6.5k per annum saving on their energy spend after Leading Edge Energy switched them from a small and medium enterprise market energy classification to a large user.
Energy Management Consultant Ying Chan reached out to James Huang who had taken over the business in 2020 to analyse their bills, tariff structure and energy consumption patterns to see if we could help them reduce their costs.
James told Ying that he previously relied on a friend to help him understand his bills and did not have an in-depth knowledge of how the energy market works.
Ying analysed the data and soon realised that the business was in the wrong market classification, listed as a small energy user when in fact it was a large energy user.
Ying advised James of what she found and then took over the process of switching the grocer over to a large user classification.
The change yielded an immediate saving of $6,500 per annum on the remainder of their two-year contract. During the process, the energy price crisis was just starting to bite and Ying advised James to lock in a new contract up to 2025, resulting in further savings of $2,000 per annum over what they were paying before Leading Edge became their energy broker.
If IGA Penhurst were to request that same contract in today’s market, they would have to fork out $25,000 per annum more than what they are paying on the new futures contract.
The IGA also installed LED lighting to reduce its energy consumption and carbon footprint but had not looked at any billing or market structure.
“If Ying had not reached out to me and explained that my business could make an instant saving of $6.5k per year, I would be none the wiser. Looking at the state of the market today, I’m very happy that she advised me to lock in rates up to 2025 before prices went ballistic,” – IGA Penhurst owner James Huang
