Because CBIA is the premier business association in Connecticut, most of our members have their primary operations here. However, CBIA member companies that are headquartered elsewhere can also rely on CBIA Energy Connections as a trusted partner in energy to help manage procurement for their portfolio of operations, as we are licensed to operate in all the deregulated states.
An aerospace manufacturer who is headquartered out-of-state in a non-deregulated energy market, recently acquired four independent companies in Connecticut. Managing the nuances of energy procurement for these four new divisions, along with nearly a dozen other locations across North America, made for quite an arduous task for the company. Some of the Connecticut locations were finishing contracts at different times of year, and others were on the standard offer from the utility, which at that point was nearly $0.50/kWh. As such, the company needed help with a cohesive strategy to both save money and obtain budget certainty.
CBIA Energy Connections worked with the member to develop a strategy that incorporated bundling all four Connecticut locations under one contract. Said Ryan Shelby, CBIA Account Manager “Through this new contract, which contained staggered start dates per location per their legacy contracts, we were able to provide a new supply rate which was considerably lower than the utility standard offer. In addition, by aggregating all the usage across the locations, the company was able to get a far lower rate than if each location were entered into a supply contract on its own.”
In the first 12 months of this new multi-location contract alone, CBIA Energy Connections was able to save this member over $350,000.00 on electricity supply costs, at a time when utility rates were at their highest on record.
In addition to helping manage the supply rate, Energy Connections also identified that two of the four locations were paying sales tax on their electricity supply and delivery. By facilitating the submission of a tax-exemption form, the member was able to save an additional $20,000.00/year, as well as recover $8,000.00 in back taxes as an on-bill credit.
Lastly, in managing energy procurement across all Connecticut locations while providing industry expertise and periodic market updates used for budgetary planning, CBIA Energy Connections was able to free up significant time and effort for the member that would have been spent attempting to coordinate from 2,000 miles away, as headquarters had been doing up until then.
To qualify for programs offered by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and compete for federal small business contracts, your business must be “small.” The SBA recently launched a new online tool to help business owners determine their eligibility under SBA’s size standards. To generate a result, the tool requires a 2007 NAICS code. Don’t know your code? Click here.
