Plastic Forests is an innovative Albury-based company that produces a variety of products from recycled plastic.
Recycling plastic and giving it a second life as something useful is good for the environment, but the process still relies on electricity to make it happen.
Plastic Forests engaged with Leading Edge Energy to see if there was any way the business could reduce its energy spend.
What we did
Energy Management Consultant Ewen Beard spoke with the management at Plastic Forests.
He explained that although the business was still tied to an existing electricity procurement agreement, this did not preclude them from looking for a better forward purchasing contract.
The Leading Edge tender process helped find a retailer which offered a peak & shoulder rate of under 5c/kWh, beating most retailers’ peak & shoulder rates by 2-3c/kWh. This is expected to translate into an overall saving of $26,000 per annum.
How we did it
Going to the market at the right time for a futures contract is of paramount importance in securing a good deal on electricity.
Forward purchasing is done through the issue of a tender for a particular business. When futures prices on the wholesale market are low, retail prices are also low.
Of paramount importance, is the fact that some retailers price well on certain load factors, while others perform poorly.
In this case, the tender resulted in one retailer coming in with a magnificent offer as they favoured Plastic Forests’ load profile.
It is also important to know that retailers’ price competitiveness changes over time. This is due to a variety of factors including demand and supply, market pricing and conditions, and seasonality amongst others.
We also take deep dives into terms and conditions, helping businesses achieve the best rates and appropriate (flexible T&Cs) to ensure that they do not get caught up in an unfavourable deal.
By combining all of the above, Ewen was able to secure a better overall deal for Plastic Forests.
Plastic Forests is a striking example of how a business can invest to reduce its energy spend and reduce its carbon footprint at the same time.
Over the years, Plastic Forests has installed a 100kw rooftop solar array, LED lighting, power factor correction equipment, and variable speed motors capable of soft starts.
With its commitment to recycling and reusing plastics, the business has also created an electricity cable cover product to cater to the solar panel industry.
“We’ve spent years in R&D designing a new manufacturing process that takes used soft plastics and converts them into quality recycled plastic products, such as AS4702 cable cover, using a low energy production process.
That being said, the process still incurs costs and Ewen has helped our business reduce them.” David Hodge Managing Director Plastic Forests.
How much can your business save?
Wholesale electricity prices are still at remarkable lows, however volatile prices lie ahead as the grid converts to renewable energy.
If you would like regular market updates keeping track of the electricity prices so that you can purchase when prices are low, please subscribe here.
Going to the market at the right time to purchase wholesale energy can result in big savings.
Get in touch on 1300-852-770 or email us at hello@leadingedgeenergy.com.au and let’s talk about how you can save on your commercial electricity costs.
