Energy matters
Now you have made the decision to do something, what
are the steps that need to be followed to implement
solutions, drive corrections and negotiate back payments
for incorrect billing?
STEP 1 – Data Retrieval,
the process is pointless if you
comparing your data to itself.
It’s similar to benchmarking your
produce to itself for an export
deal! A meter / logger should
be installed on your side of the
connection (client side). This
independent perspective will offer
a clear indication as to what is
working, what energy behaviour
is present, what is costing you
financially and what needs to
be corrected. Advanced loggers
are relatively inexpensive when
considering the value they deliver,
in fact they dirt cheap! There are
also rental options that can be
considered if it’s merely to identify
the baseline as a start. View this
step as a full body CAT scan of
your energy position in a few days.
STEP 2 – Data Segmentation
and Analysis, once you have
accessed the data and you have
something objective to compare
to your utility bill, it’s the time to
further analyse the data. This may
be a mere analysis of the make-
up of the energy bill or a more in
depth analysis to identify specific
trends and areas for attention.
There are service providers that
will turn around the data in a short
period offering valuable insight;
Step 4 – Scenario Planning
to Make a Bankable Long
Term Decision. Once you have
executed points one, two and
three, you can start being creative
with the data set that you have
used to developed your baseline.
How best you can improve your
current energy position? Some of
these considerations will include:
(i) Cost and Efficiency Parity,
finding the balance between
cost and efficiency;
(ii) Integrated battery cost vs.
Direct AC feed (Three Phase
Perspective), to what extent
would it be viable today to
invest in battery storage as
compared to year two and
year three (future phases of
commissioning) vs. having
a direct energy feed with
no or part storage (i.e.
Photovoltaic / solar PV); and
(iii) Traditional
return
on
invetsment vs. leveraged
incentives
(direct
and
indirect), key considerations
to be built into the financial
model in coming weeks.
(a) 12L Tax Allowance,
R0.95 per kWh for Energy
Efficiency Interventions;
(b) Local feed-in tariff (i.e.
Cape Town e.g. @
61,47c / kWh excl. Vat,
Port Elizabeth, Ekurhuleni
and Durban); and
(c) Other incentives.
The establishment of an accurate
baseline gives you access to
more than ‘getting your house
in order’. The 12L tax allowance
offer R0.95 per kWh as a tax
allowance on energy efficiency
interventions provided the baseline
is transparent and verified!
This is a practical example of an existing client that has a discrepancy with
the utility of a few %. After installing verification meters this client has avoided
over billing in the region of R250 000 to R350 000 / year. This could be as
beneficial as a few thousand or million Rand a year dependent on the size of
your operation.
Figure 2, Verification Meter vs. Utility
STEP 3 – Tariff Review, the
analysis will consider the tariff
structure that your company is on
today or the alternatives that may
be available. The tariff migration
can be to the immediate benefit
of the organisation. We find that
50% of our clients are on the
incorrect tariff structure. With
careful planning, you can achieve
the benefits that you set out by
migrating your tariff and then
leverage your position through
in house actions.
Figure 3, Tariff Migration Analysis
Adding to the benefits associated
with the tariff migration, this client
saves no less than R460 000 /
annum based on a few easy to
implement operational guidelines
that are monitored remotely
and automated for a few
Rand a month in service fees.
Allowing the farmer to focus on
their core business
http://www.poweroptimal.com/infographic-eskom-tariff-increases-vs-inflation-since-1988/
Figure 4, Inflation vs. Eskom
There are aspects that you can
manage and control and then
there are areas you can merely
manage. Every year the energy
input per tonne or kg increases
exponentially. You can manage
this actively and reap the benefits
as early as this coming quarter! Future editions of AskGareth
About Energy will include a case
study in your sector.
The next article will answer specific
question relating to the selection of
technology and decentralized (on-
site) energy generation. Including
next steps to start implementing
some of these models. Ask Gareth -
askGareth@
energysecurity.co.za
Please forward any energy
related questions that you would
like answered in the next or
upcoming publications
Input to this article was sourced from:
Energy Security Services Africa,
Gareth Gregory,
Africa Head,
Strategic Energy and Client
Delivery (Agri)
+27 (0)73 220 6824
SABI | APRIL / MAY 2017
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