How to lower your business electricity bill? 7 proven ways to lower bills

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What does electricity consumption depend on?

Electricity is one of those energy sources that are essential to the operation of virtually every business. It is used by both large manufacturing companies and small one-person operations. The cost of electricity is all the more acute for entrepreneurs because the Energy Regulatory Office does not cap prices for entrepreneurs the way it does for consumers. The current cap is transitional.
Electricity consumption depends on three factors:

• the power of the appliance;
• the length of time you use it;
• the cost per kilowatt-hour with your chosen electricity supplier.

To determine a company's annual electricity consumption, it is sufficient to analyse the previous 12 months' invoices. In reality, however, it is worth taking into account the estimated electricity consumption already at the business plan stage, as this will be a cyclical load. The highest electricity consumption occurs in plants that use continuous three-shift operation. These can be steel mills, manufacturing companies or companies specialising in food processing.
However, it is not just about the electricity used to drive machinery. It is needed to provide lighting and sometimes heating for the facility, power for servers or employee computers. In large industrial plants, electricity charges run into tens of thousands of zlotys per month. It is therefore no surprise that entrepreneurs are looking for ways to effectively reduce their electricity bills.

How do you cut your electricity bill? Simple steps to saving money

There are many ways on how to reduce your electricity bill. However, an energy transformation is a time-consuming and expensive undertaking. To avoid putting your company's budget at significant risk, it's worth starting to make changes in small steps. Where to look for simple savings?

Replacing lighting with energy-efficient lighting

One of the simplest solutions is to replace the company's lighting with energy-saving lighting. LEDs are ideal, as they consume very little electricity. The service life of LED high-beam bulbs is several tens of thousands of hours. At the same time, they emit intense light, which is desirable in workplaces due to its positive impact on employee productivity.

Employee education

Employee awareness of opportunities to reduce business costs is not insignificant. It is worth reminding team members to turn off lights when leaving the room. Electronic equipment that is not in use, such as computers and printers, should be switched off and not put into standby mode.

Tariff changes

Businesses can choose between three tariffs:

• tariff A is, by design, aimed at the largest businesses supplied from high voltage networks;
• tariff B is aimed at medium-sized businesses that use medium-voltage networks; and
• tariff C is aimed at the smallest businesses and service outlets that draw electricity from low-voltage networks.

Each tariff comes in several variants. For example, under the C tariff, it is possible to choose its C11 version, which guarantees a fixed electricity price around the clock, but also C12a (peak and off-peak) or C12b (night). Choosing a tariff that corresponds to your business model allows you to optimise your electricity consumption.

Minimising energy costs - how to reduce electricity consumption?

If the simplest ways of reducing electricity bills are not enough, it is worth turning to other solutions.
First of all, it is worth remembering that each market participant (both consumers and companies) has the possibility of changing its electricity supplier. This can be done on one's own, as well as with the help of the existing seller, who will take care of most of the formalities. A different electricity supplier may not only have lower spot prices, but also charge a lower commercial fee or guarantee various other services, such as a fixed electricity price. The termination of an old contract and the conclusion of a new one should be synchronised in such a way as to ensure continuity of electricity supply.

Another way to reduce your electricity bill is to increase your contracted power. This is the amount of electricity that the grid user undertakes not to exceed. For the supplier, on the other hand, the contractual power sets the limits of the obligation. This is the amount of electricity that must be delivered to a given point of consumption. You will find the value of your contracted capacity on your electricity supply contract or invoice.
Why is it sometimes worthwhile to increase the contracted capacity? Companies can be heavily fined for exceeding the contracted capacity. Therefore, if you are expanding your machinery or increasing your production volume, it is worth remembering to increase your contractual power so as not to unnecessarily subsidise your business.

How to pay less for electricity? Making use of solar energy

Reaching out to renewable energy sources (RES) is one of the best ways to pay less for electricity. Photovoltaic cells use the photons found in the sun's rays to generate direct current, which is then transformed by an inverter into alternating current that can be used in a factory. The advantages of photovoltaics are energy independence, freedom from fluctuations in the market price of energy, and environmental friendliness. A company that invests in RES builds positive PR, presenting itself as a responsible contractor and an entity that cares about stakeholder relations.

Photovoltaic installations are virtually maintenance-free and, if properly optimised - by taking into account self-consumption - make it possible to meet a large proportion of electricity demand for most months of the year.
It is difficult to disagree with the argument that photovoltaics, especially on an industrial scale and in combination with energy storage, is a rather large expense. System solutions with high subsidies come to the rescue. Entrepreneurs can benefit from different programmes than consumers. The most important of these are:

• Energy Plus;
• Thermomodernisation Bonus;
• BGK's Ecological Loan;
• My Electrician.

Energy-efficient solutions for offices. How to reduce a company's electricity bill?

Companies that want to reduce their electricity bills can consider implementing various types of energy-saving solutions. These could include, for example, insulating industrial installations or renovating a building by insulating it or replacing the insulation layer with a material with a lower U-value, which determines the degree of heat transfer to the outside. Other measures aimed at saving money include:

• replacing or modernising installations used in industrial processes;
• reducing energy consumption losses;
• implementing energy recovery technologies.

Energy-efficient solutions have a double benefit. On the one hand, they reduce electricity and heat consumption. On the other hand, they make it possible to apply for a so-called white certificate. This is a legal instrument that can be traded on the market.

Green energy in the enterprise - how to reduce electricity consumption?

The future of businesses should be an energy transition and a switch to green energy from renewable sources. Photovoltaics are not the only solution that serves this purpose. It is worth mentioning, for example, heat pumps, hydrogen boilers or wind turbines.
Success in the form of significant savings is made up of many small steps. Start taking them with us today. Contact us: https://reo.pl/pl/kontakt. Let's start the green transformation together!