Your Energy Bill Explained

Do you know how much your business spends on energy? Of course, the bills come and it’s a staple in your budget, but all too often businesses just don’t consider the opportunities available to lower that bill. 

Take a step towards controlling energy costs by understanding how your electricity provider charges you for the energy your business needs.

Let’s quickly define, and simplify some terms;

A kilowatt (kW) is a measurement that defines the intensity of the electricity being used. 

Kilowatt-hours (kWh) are the result of Intensity multiplied by time, just think of this as a unit of energy. For example, if you use ten 100-watt-intensity light bulbs for an hour, you would be charged for 1-kilowatt hour (kWh) unit.

However, your utility doesn’t stop there, most businesses are on time-of-use rate plans which determine the rate for each unit of energy used, by the time of day you use it. Utilities use time of use to shift their customers’ operations to times with less overall demand on the grid, like mornings and weekends. Businesses struggle to keep in tune with ever changing time of use plans ultimately cause significantly higher electricity costs.

Demand charges are sneaky charges for the electricity you technically do not use and depending on your energy profile, demand charges could make up over 50% of your bill! As your utility provider monitors your energy usage, when you have short term spikes of intensity, even if for only a few minutes, they notice. For the duration of that pay period, you will pay a portion of your bill based on that boosted rate. 

It doesn’t matter whether you use the electricity or not. The utility company says, “if even for a minute your business displays a need for energy at such high-intensity again, we need to have those units stored on the grid ready for you, even when there’s a very high chance you won’t use it.”

Understanding how your business uses energy and how utilities bill you for that use may seem like a monumental task, but you’ve already taken a crucial step – just by viewing this video! At Revel Energy, we want to help you take the next step in evaluating your energy needs to determine which other ways your business can save. Don’t let your utility dictate how you pay for energy.

Contact Revel Energy today for a free energy consultation.

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