Technology Company Streamlines Energy Procurement Strategy on a Global Scale

Case Study
See All Insights
Energy Procurement
Resource Management
Renewable Energy

At a Glance

  • Managing multiple site-specific energy contracts can be time-intensive, costly, and complicated.
  • Market research, negotiating costs and contract review can reduce administrative burdens while also expanding decarbonization.
  • For one client, implementing various solutions has resulted in 100% renewable energy in European and United States operations and hundreds of thousands of dollars in savings.

With over 100 sites—and an average yearly consumption of 64 million kWh per site—a large technology company realized that they needed to have an aggressive strategy in order to reach 100% renewable energy in Europe and the United States.

Challenge

Their strategy of managing multiple energy contracts for each site was time-intensive, costly, and a complicated administrative undertaking. Not only were these sites in deregulated markets, but each also had its own contract, contract duration, and up to six internal signatories. The entire process to coordinate and secure an energy contract with multiple suppliers took several weeks and did not ensure consistency between sites.

Procuring energy for multiple sites in various countries is a complex initiative that incorporates market research, negotiating costs and reviewing convoluted contracts. With several suppliers and contracts to review, the technology company knew they wanted to streamline the entire process, reduce administrative costs and expand their green energy portfolio. To achieve its goals, the technology company partnered with ENGIE Impact to craft a global strategy at a local level.

Solution

The technology company was already working with ENGIE Impact to manage their global utility data, but wanted to expand their partnership to include a global energy procurement strategy. ENGIE Impact leveraged its expertise in data management and energy procurement to provide the technology company with:

1. Streamlined Supplier Contracts

Prior to 2017, the technology company did not have a consistent energy procurement plan across sites and countries. To create consistency, ENGIE Impact consolidated suppliers so that each country had one supplier. In addition, each supplier had a single long-term contract written in English that started and ended at the same time. To coordinate and streamline this massive effort across several countries, ENGIE Impact sent RFPs to suppliers and analyzed the responses to find the best market rates within each country. ENGIE Impact also streamlined internal processes by working with the technology company to reduce the number of signatories involved in energy procurement to a single point of contact. By assigning one energy supplier per country and reducing the number of internal stakeholders involved, contract signing can be expedited. The technology company is now also large enough to make its global sites eligible to purchase renewable energy as part of its energy mix.

2. Market Intelligence

To equip the technology company with the most up-to-date information on changing energy markets across multiple regions, ENGIE Impact provides monthly reports showing trends in wholesale prices at a country level. These reports give the technology company visibility into where the energy market is going, which countries are most vulnerable to a price increase, and how adding renewable energy will impact their portfolio. A combination of market intelligence and open communication with all internal stakeholders allowed ENGIE Impact to create a business case for the technology company to add renewable energy into their energy mix.

Webinar: What Your Renewable Energy Strategy is Probably Missing→

Results

By consolidating the supplier contracts and streamlining the decision-making process, ENGIE Impact has changed how the technology company procures its energy. Over the last three years, the program has evolved from an arduous, inefficient process to one that has seen the following results:

100%

of the energy used in European and United States operations is renewable

$592K+

has been saved on energy contracts through the consolidation process

Streamlined

the process and saved time by reducing the number of stakeholders involved

As the program continues to expand, providing visibility and consistency at a local level is key to creating a global energy strategy.

Get In Touch

Let’s work together to plan your energy procurement strategy.