This summer, electricity grids across North America are being pushed hard. A major heat wave is driving demand to levels that grid operators have not seen in years, with dangerous heat indices forecast across the Midwest, South, and East Coast. …
A dealership group with five locations in three states is not managing one energy bill. It is managing five, each tied to a different utility, a different contract expiration date, and in some cases a different regulatory structure entirely. For…
Every business owner who has shopped for a commercial energy (think electricity or natural gas) contract has run into the same wall: too many brokers, too many pitches, and no easy way to tell which one understands the business well…
Run a manufacturing operation in Illinois, and you already track the costs that move. The price of materials, the cost of labor, and the freight rates never seem to hold still. Electricity tends to sit in a different category, treated…
Irrigation season is its own kind of clock. For months, the pumps run hard, moving water across fields or through greenhouse lines, often for long hours and through the hottest stretches of the year. Then the season turns, the demand…
For most manufacturers, the energy contracts (electricity and natural gas) are the major costs that get the least attention. You scrutinize the price of raw materials. You track labor down to the hour. You schedule preventive maintenance so a machine…
At some point in setting up an energy contract (think electricity, natural gas, or both), a retailer is asked a deceptively small question. Do you want a fixed rate or a variable one? It tends to be presented as a…
Walk into a well-run dealership showroom, and the first thing you notice is how good everything looks. The vehicles sit under even, flattering light that brings out the depth of the paint and the shine of the chrome. The glass…
The bill was higher this month. You mention it to your manager. Your manager has not noticed, and frankly, has bigger things to deal with on a Friday during a dinner rush. You look at the number again, decide it…
With rising raw material, labor, and logistics costs, Ohio manufacturing plants must scrutinize every input to protect margins. Energy often gets overlooked. Yet electricity is typically a top operating cost, and, unlike labor or materials, the supply rate can be…
