Get stable, predictable electricity costs

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You may be able to lock in a competitive price for up to five years with CBIA Energy Connections

Volatile costs can stymie your efforts to forecast and control your expenses. One cost that certainly has been volatile over the past year or so is the price of electricity. And under the new system Connecticut adopted in January, rates for the electric utility companies’ small to midsize business customers can change as often as every six months.

You do have the option of choosing a third-party supplier. But do you have the time or expertise to identify the low-cost supplier from among the many registered to do business in Connecticut? Or the leverage to get the best price and contract terms?

CBIA Energy Connections does.

Energy Connections uses an aggregation approach to help intermediate users of electricity — those with a total energy demand of at least 50 kilowatts (kW) — lock in current market prices through long-term contracts with competitive suppliers. If you qualify, this process can let you control costs, stabilize pricing and prevent budget surprises down the road.

The promise of price stability is what motivated Koster Keunen Inc., in Watertown, to contract for electricity through CBIA Energy Connections. “There was a lot of volatility last year, and the price was going up. We wanted to lock into a stable cost,” notes Henry Muschio, vice president of operations for the company, which processes, refines and markets waxes to the cosmetic, pharmaceutical, candle, food and other industries. “It’s nice to have an ‘insurance policy’ that means our price won’t go up,” he says.

If you participate in Energy Connections, your electricity needs will be aggregated with those of other CBIA member companies that have similar energy objectives. We will then present the group’s energy requirements to our chosen supplier. Aggregating a group’s energy needs allows us to get volume discounts and secure electricity at prices usually available only to the largest consumers. We also obtain contract terms and options as favorable as possible. Contract terms can range from two to five years — the length is up to you.

“The objective is to lock in a price for multiple years so that you can insulate yourself from future price increases,” says Jim Bell, CBIA’s director of products and services.

To date, Energy Connections has helped 285 small-to-midsize companies purchase electricity.

To qualify for Energy Connections’ program for intermediate electricity users, your company must be a CBIA member and have a total demand of at least 50 kW for all of your electric accounts combined. (That translates to an average monthly electric bill of about $2,500.) Your company’s credit rating will also need to be acceptable to the electricity supplier.

Current market prices are still relatively attractive, says Bell, so now might be the perfect time for you to look into this program. For more information, call CBIA at 860-244-1900 or send an e-mail to Jim Bell or Bill Walsh.

Note: For purchasers of natural gas and large electricity users, Energy Connections uses an Internet-based auction process to obtain the best prices and lock them in for multiple-year contracts.