One of the first steps for companies in developing a sound energy supply purchasing strategy is to identify their risk tolerance, business objectives, and budget constraints. These components can inform which energy pricing strategy is best for your company. One strategy that balances budget risk with market risk is the block and index pricing model. To fully understand the appeal of this strategy, let's briefly take a look at two of the alternative approaches at either end of the market-budget risk spectrum: fully indexed pricing versus fully fixed pricing.

Last week, we brought our energy management expertise to the Windy City for EnergySMART Chicago. Sad you missed out? Register for EnergySMART Long Beach on June 18 by clicking the button at the bottom of this post. And if you're not planning to be in California in June, keep an eye on our Workshops page to see when we might be coming to a city near you.

In the popular HBO series “Game of Thrones,” warnings abound in preparation for the looming change in seasons. In real life, such warnings aren’t nearly as dramatic or forthcoming. However, as winter approaches, facilities of all sizes should be preparing for changing environmental needs of employees, tenants, and operations. Conditioned spaces are particularly susceptible to seasonal impact in cost as weather is a primary driver of energy use. But how do you know the change in energy use is driven by the weather and not a drift in your equipment’s efficiency?

This just in from our SupplySMART team, starting with a Macro Gas Price Overview: In its monthly natural gas gross production report, EIA reported a 0.8 percent increase in production to 82.88 Bcf/day for the U.S during February 2013. The lower 48 states saw production increase by 1.3% to 73.22 Bcf/day.   

Each month, we speak to EnerNOC customers about what it’s like to participate in our demand response programs. The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is a landmark building built over 36,000 square metres in Wellington, New Zealand. The site joined the Genesis Energy-EnerNOC DemandSMART Programme in January 2013, and we talk to Bruce Hallum about their participation.

Last month, we told you how demand response works within the New Zealand electricity market. While this mechanism brings tangible benefits to the supply side of the equation, being a demand response (DR) participant can also help your organisation realise immediate rewards that support your business needs.

This just in: big benchmarking news from Boston. Yesterday, the Boston City Council voted to approve a new Building Energy and Reporting Ordinance requiring large commercial and residential buildings to report and disclose energy and water use, as well as greenhouse gas emissions, to encourage investment in energy efficiency.

Last week, Greentech Media released a report, “Intelligent Efficiency: Innovations Reshaping the Energy Efficiency Market,” which provides an in-depth view into an emerging category in energy management: intelligent efficiency. As energy efficiency moves from a services, capital-intensive model to one driven by data and technology, the industry and resulting competitive landscape are quickly evolving. The report claims the industry has the potential to be worth over $1 trillion within the next decade. The full report is worth reading, and so is listening to the related podcast, but below are a few key takeaways if you’re looking for the cheat sheet:

This is the second installment in a three-part series about the energy efficiency investment gap based on this Imperial College London report, undertaken in collaboration with Bloomberg, Ceres, and Carbon Disclosure Project. Before diving in below, read the first post, about why CFOs don’t care about energy efficiency – and should - published on our EnergySMART site in March. The third and final installment will be published next month.

Each month, we speak to EnerNOC customers about what it’s like to participate in our demand response program in Western Australia (WA). Balco Australia is a leading processor and exporter of high-grade oaten and cereal hay and has been a participant EnerNOC’s DemandSMART™ program in WA since 2012. We chatted with WA Manager, Garry Pattinson, about their experience so far.