It’s Time for a New Approach to Energy Projects

Every energy project is unique. Different projects are designed to accomplish different goals, address different needs based on different priorities, and reflect different circumstances, environments, and infrastructure challenges. Customers who report the best experiences point to the fact that their projects were customized to meet their specific needs and financial conditions.

It’s important to select an Energy Services Company (ESCO) partner that recognizes, solicits, and listens to the perspectives of all stakeholders impacted by the project, and an ESCO that is flexible and agile enough to pivot. The project should reflect the stakeholder’s input, and the customer’s voice needs to be equal in priority to a proven process and approach.

Vendor Neutral Equipment Selection

Equipment selection is always an important factor in the project’s long-term success. It is important to understand the difference a pure-play ESCO brings to a project. Some ESCOs that operate as a business unit within a larger technology or non-energy services organization make internally influenced selection decisions. Pure-play ESCOs are completely neutral and poised to select equipment, vendors, engineers, etc., based on value to the project stakeholders – without influence other than customer choice!

In addition, vendor and equipment neutrality lends itself to a competitive selection of equipment and vendors based on best value that reflects cost, availability, quality, maintenance, etc. Pure-play ESCOs can have the best experience collaborating with customer preferred vendors because their business model includes relationships with the marketplace.

Energy Performance Contracting Methodology

Guaranteed energy savings performance (GESA) contracts can be an effective contracting methodology that results in proven energy performance and measurable financial results. Many customers prefer the performance contracting design-build methodology over traditional design-bid-build. This moves much of the coordination and project budget risk away from the customer to the ESCO partner. Some ESCOs provide firm-fixed prices under a performance contract. In these cases, it is important to select a partner that has a record of delivering the contracted scope of work without change orders.

The landscape of ESCOs has changed significantly in recent years. Larger ESCOs that relied on stability as their value proposition are now competing with boutique ESCOs that deliver more value with lower cost-basis and less corporate bureaucracy. Many customers favor ESCOs that can deliver more scope for the same financial investment over others that have a higher cost of doing business.

Energy performance-based contracting models can include many contractual structures and many financing structures. Most customers look for an ESCO that has the stability to offer Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), Energy Services Agreements (ESAs), and Efficiency-Energy-Infrastructure-as-a-Service Agreements (aaS) based on their unique and customizable financial goals.

Market Reputation

Procuring a long-term energy partner can feel daunting. At the end of the day, customers need a partner that makes it easy for them to get work done today and into the future. Performance contracts include a period of performance during which additional work can be completed without running another procurement; it is the easy button!

Look for an ESCO that can point directly to experience delivering multiple phases of work to customers and with high customer satisfaction scores. The Efficiency Network (TEN) was created 12 years ago to deliver the best value customer-centric energy and sustainability solutions. If you do not know who we are, visit us at www.TENsaves.com.

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