Total Utilities partners with Kristin School to provide real-time monitoring of solar panel performance with our world-class energy monitoring solution.
Measuring and analysing solar power to calculate return on investment (ROI).
Tracking energy savings & identifying opportunities for improved solar performance.
Providing educational opportunities for students with solar lab to monitor real-time generation.
Helping Kristin School reduce reliance on grid and achieve sustainability goals.
Kristin powers its way to brighter, greener future
Kristin School in Auckland has been committed to sustainability for many years, with a target of reducing carbon emissions by 50% by 2030.
The school first began installing solar panels in 2019 as part of a sustainability initiative named ‘The Lightbox Project.’ Two years later, they called upon Total Utilities for a full solar review and to recommend a service provider for further solar installations to extend the solar project.
That done, the next step was to call upon our expertise to help them measure and quantify real-time solar generation and measure sustainability gains.
Using Centrica Business Solutions’ energy insights technology, Total Utilities was able to assist Kristin gain invaluable insights into solar power generation, whilst also providing amazing real-life learning opportunities for students with a solar monitoring lab.
Delivering competitive advantage with real time energy monitoring
Total Utilities has an exclusive partnership with Centrica Business Solutions to deliver its Panoramic Power energy insights solution.
Panoramic Power provides world-class energy visibility and intelligence using wireless sensor technology that transmits data from all energy-using equipment in real time to the Cloud.
Our expert team analyses data to provide cutting edge energy insights and advice to deliver cost and energy savings for clients.
Panoramic Power is quick to install, requires no maintenance and is a revolution in energy management.
Basking in solar
Working together with Total Utilities, Kristin School has gained important insights into the benefits of its solar investment:
Increased sustainability. Total Utilities has been able to provide real-time insights into energy savings – a major step forward in helping the school measure its carbon footprint and achieve its goal of becoming carbon neutral.
Reduced power consumption. Energy insights provided by Total Utilities show exactly where and when solar energy is being generated, providing reassurance on return on investment.
Carbon credits. Kristin can now accurately calculate excess solar generated, earning carbon credits to offset the school’s carbon emissions and generate revenue.
Educational opportunities. The ‘Power Radar’ dashboard is an invaluable educational resource for students to learn about how solar energy can be used to power schools, businesses and homes.
Kristin School’s glowing report card for Total Utilities
Director of Business Services for Kristin School, Nigel Wilkinson said;
“The energy insight tools provided by Total Utilities have enabled us to measure solar power generated building by building, and the dashboard is so quick and easy to use with no training. Before it was installed, it was difficult to have confidence in exactly what was being generated and used.
As well as reassuring us about the ongoing viability of solar panels, the solar dashboard now enables me to confidently report back to the school board on our solar performance.
Additionally, the solar lab provided by Total Utilities is an excellent educational tool for students, allowing them to assess data and learn about renewable energy for projects and assignments.
All new buildings and upgrades now include solar panels. I can only see an increase in student and parent interest in renewable energy, and it’s important for us to be able to report on our commitment to reducing emissions and improving sustainability both now and in the future.”
A greener future for our children
Total Utilities energy insights and reporting capability allows Kristin School to determine exactly how energy is consumed and potentially wasted on campus.
This is an important step forward for schools such as Kristin who require an affordable, data-driven solution to reduce waste and carbon emissions in order to meet the government’s goal of NetZero emissions by 2050.
Armed with energy insights provided by Total Utilities, schools and businesses can accurately measure cost-savings and environmental benefits of solar.
Our energy insight services are ideal for any school or business wanting to reduce costs and carbon emissions, drive efficiency and ensure reliability of power.
With the clock ticking on a global environmental crisis, harnessing renewable solar energy is a great step forward to ensure a brighter, greener future for our children.
Total Utilities helped Forest Lodge save money, gain real-time data visibility, and prove their 100% electric claims to grant providers. All to drive sustainable growth and set an example for food producers around the world.
Why they needed us
Forest Lodge Orchard, a high-density cherry orchard in Cromwell, New Zealand, has gone fully electric with a hybrid solar and battery system tied to the grid. Owner-operator Mike Casey supports the national grid by exporting power at peak times. He also aims to provide an example of how an agricultural site can electrify everything.
Forest Lodge Orchard received a government grant to purchase 2 x 30kW electric frost fighting fans. A condition of the grant was to provide supporting data and reporting to show the source of the electricity powering the fans.
The site’s industrial electrician, Jase Lee, recommended Total Utilities and Centrica’s energy insights for the job. It’s been a great success – PowerRadar now provides new levels of visibility of the solar gains, loads, and the charging and discharging profiles onsite.
Dashboard example of solar curve and battery charging / discharging traces with Centrica Business Solution Pan-10 Wireless Sensor
NZ cherry orchard ripe for clean, optimised energy usage.
“I like to see the solar graph and then overlay the charging loads, and I can make sure that they sit within that solar curve. Sometimes we need to tap the grid for something, but we are just trying to optimise that energy usage as much as possible.”
Real-time energy intelligence delivers savings, shapes decisions, and provides new opportunities for sustainable growth.
Real-time data used to support claims for government grant
The electric frost fighting fans save Forest lodge up to $1,000 per evening compared to diesel-run fans. PowerRadar provides the usage data to substantiate these claims.
Complete oversight over battery charging and discharging
PowerRadar calculates and provides a real-time view of the battery charge and discharge traces. Effectively this was the missing piece for Mike Casey, who now has full visibility of the electrical flow on his site. He can also track how the operation affects the health and longevity of his batteries.
Solar insights inform operational and strategic decisions
By monitoring the real-time solar gain onsite, Forest Lodge can decide when they will perform operations such as irrigation, vehicle work and charging, therefore optimising their energy usage.
Calculating the running costs of their new electric tractor
Forest Lodge received another grant for a state-of-the art fully electric tractor. Energy insights will be used to determine the amount of kW drawn from solar and how much comes from the grid (and when), so the tractor’s operational running costs can be calculated.
Contributing to energy education and climate change advocacy.
Forest Lodge were invited to join EECA’s Gen Less campaign and become part of the climate change solution. The data collected by the energy insights system will play a significant part in the next chapter of their zero emission story.
40% reduction in exposure to waste levies Contract savings of $420k between 2021 and 2024 Ongoing recycling savings of $288k + each following year
Why Organisations Need Us
Significant financial, environmental and brand gains are achieved when businesses manage and monitor their waste efficiently.
To combat our growing waste problem, the New Zealand government is increasing the levies on nonrecycled waste from $10 per tonne to $60 per tonne by 2024. Now more than ever, businesses need to reduce the amount of waste they send to landfill.
Our experienced waste consulting service team will help to navigate the often-complex waste management environment in Australasia.
How we help
Total Utilities provides a coordinated waste procurement, supplier management, monitoring and reporting service to many well-known New Zealand and Australasian brands.
We make sense of the options available, and know when and how to manage contracts,supplier engagement and multiple waste streams.
Major Client Wins
Case one: Increasing recycling and reusing behaviours
One of our big retail clients generates around 7,000 tonnes of waste each year. Until recently, most of this headed straight to landfill with minimal recycling or reuse. If they continued down this path the additional government levies and disposal tariffs could have added around $400,000 each year to their waste bill. Not to mention the damage to the environment and their brand’s reputation.
By engaging Total Utilities, the above customer:
managed their supplier and contracts effectively
gained significantly improved reporting and identified insights into their waste and waste behaviours
got their staff on board with new systems and policies
Reduced 40% of their waste levies through contract and performance efficiencies – and diverting waste from landfill by reusing and recycling
will save $420,000 between 2021 and 2024
after that they will save at least $288,000 p.a.
Case two: Waste mitigation and colloboration
We recently conducted a waste mitigation project in partnership with a well-known Australian firm, their supplier, and a specialist recycler. This partnership not only produced significant costs savings but allowed all parties to measure and monitor their results.
By engaging Total Utilities, the above customer:
standardised many previously disjointed supply and service arrangements
extended an existing major client contract
reduced their landfill usage, governance costs and costs to serve individual customer branches
reduced their waste charges and levies and improved their efficiency of supply.
Case three: Achieving long-term win/win contracts
Our client was about to negotiate a new contract with an existing waste supplier. Head Office in the meantime was facing increasing pressure to reduce costs and report on robust decarbonisation, recycling and waste diversion targets.
Total Utilities worked with the supplier to agree a win/win contract that included agreed targets and reporting. The supplier met these targets in the first half of the contract term, earning them the right to extend their contract for a much longer period, subject to continued performance.
As a result of this improved contact, the customer:
saw improved efficiency
faced much reduced waste charges
could see clear and measurable sustainability and decarbonisation outcomes
can now report their results to their Board, executives, shareholders, the market and government.
Total Utilities continues to work with all parties to provide ongoing improvement suggestions,
verifiable reporting on cost and consumption trends, and to ensure everyone complies with the
contracted billing and performance outcomes.
Successful outcomes for business, consumers and our planet
By working closely with our specialist waste consulting partners, suppliers and customers, Total Utilities improves the performance and efficiency of waste management, whilst negotiating the best possible contract terms. For our customers, this means reductions in their waste charges, levies and carbon footprint, improved monitoring and reporting of their waste systems, and less waste sent to landfill. We’re proud that as a result of these engagements businesses can reduce and reuse. These sustainable practices can be maintained long into the future for the benefit of current and future generations.
Keen for your business to enjoy the similar outcomes? Email us at [email protected]
As the southernmost commercial deep-water port in New Zealand, South Port NZ worked with Total Utilities to implement Centrica Business Solutions’ Panoramic Power™ technology – avoiding costly upgrade projects and increasing available storage capacity.
80% increase in container storage days compared to previous year
10mins to collect data from 51 revenue meters across site
$600k savings from avoided capital project expenses (USD)
Increasing capacity of available on-site storage
South Port NZ is a deep-water port on a 40-hectare Island located in Bluff, New Zealand, from where it provides a full range of marine services, cargo and container shipping, and on-site warehousing for domestic and international customers.
In 2019, South Port NZ partnered with Total Utilities to better understand the actual power demand of the site, identify opportunities to increase existing storage capacity and deliver customised solutions to meet the needs of customers on the island. An initial supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) solution was proposed by a 3rd party vendor to address the needs, which came with a price tag of NZD$800,000.
As a partner of Centrica Business Solutions, Total Utilities supplied and DECOM Electrical installed Panoramic Power wireless, device-level, energy monitoring sensors at the port. After a month of capturing the data and analysing it using Centrica Business Solutions’ complimentary energy management software, PowerRadar, South Port NZ deployed an additional 229 Panoramic Power sensors and over 30 communication bridges across the port with minimal interruption to operations. Within days, the on-site infrastructure team gained real-time, granular visibility into the energy consumption and operation of their critical assets across the site. The easy-to-install energy insights solution now transmits data securely via cellular connectivity – monitoring more assets than the initial proposed SCADA solution, at a fraction of the cost.
“PowerRadar provides real-time data on demand versus capacity which allows us to maximize our electrical PowerRadar provides real-time data on demand versus capacity which allows us to maximise our electrical infrastructure while minimising risk. Being a small team looking after the engineering infrastructure of a 40-hectare island, takes a lot of our time. Having something like this that provides us with real-time, easy data, provides efficiencies saving us a lot of time.”
Jason Paul, Project Engineer, South Port NZ
Prior to installing Panoramic Power, the infrastructure team had been unable to determine the maximum number of refrigeration storage units that could be brought online safely at any given time. As such, only eighty electrical plugs were available at any time – one per refrigeration storage unit – within two substations dedicated to handling refrigeration reefers for port customers. With real-time visibility of the measured load across the electrical substations in PowerRadar, the infrastructure team realised that the electrical capacity for these substations was being underutilised – adding more plugs to these substations doubled the reefer capacity to 160 without any major or costly upgrades.
Streamlining resources for managing assets
One of the hurdles of the day-to-day operations at the port was the amount of time spent in collecting data from submeters to invoice port customers. Typically, it would take one of the port’s personnel three days every six months to capture the readings from all 51 revenue meters around the port, regardless of the weather conditions. Using PowerRadar, it now takes them only 10 minutes to collect the meter information before it is passed to their finance team for invoicing customers.
With the monitoring of the sewer pump stations at the port using PowerRadar, the infrastructure team now receives real-time alerts on the status of the motors operated at those stations. This has enabled the reallocation of limited resources to other critical assets at the port. One of the benefits of such reallocation was the detection of surface water ingress at the pump stations by the infrastructure team, having compared the measured power draw of the pumps to available rain data. It is now possible for the infrastructure team to track the amount of surface water ingress at each station on days with rainfall and implement any corrective measures.
Effective planning for infrastructure projects
When trying to identify which assets at the port should be prioritised for capital upgrade projects, the infrastructure team relied on the energy consumption data in PowerRadar. This enabled the team, particularly in the design phase, to plan future expansions as well as ongoing maintenance of the existing electrical infrastructure at the port.
An energy audit was completed for one of the large electrical substations being monitored at the port. The findings resulted in the approval of a large capital project for implementing changes to the substation, and switch board running the Cold Stores and an expected payback within one year.
To ensure the reliability of the substations to handle loads within the port’s electrical network, especially during periods of storing a large number of refrigerator containers, the infrastructure team uses the real-time energy dashboard within PowerRadar to track the maximum power demand from the combined substations. If the power draw approaches 1 MW, the team can begin to consider bringing backup generators online or other ways of taking some load off the power grid at the port.
By choosing to implement Panoramic Power across the site, South Port NZ reduced their capital expenditure by US$600,000 and achieved an increase of 80% in container storage days compared to the previous year. In addition, South Port NZ is now able to report on their carbon footprint annually, provide automatic reports on monthly energy use to port users and streamline efforts in identifying areas of high energy usage for investigating ways to lower the peak demand at the port.
Total Utilities is New Zealand’s largest issuer of business-to-business energy procurement tenders, providing energy purchasing services to many household names. With around 500 tenders issued to the market every year, getting favourable terms is crucial. But negotiating energy contracts is so much more than getting a great price. It involves an understanding of the many moving parts.
The variables that influence retail energy prices are:
GEOGRAPHICAL
New Zealand’s population is dispersed over a large land area, creating its own set of challenges.
FINANCIAL
Prices are based on the changing supply and demand through the wholesale spot market.
MARKET-DRIVEN
The market is deregulated, and our national energy supply consists of generators/retailers, the national grid operator and 29 local distribution companies. Energy retailers can hedge future energy on the ASX Energy Futures market.
SOURCE OF ENERGY
New Zealand has a diverse generation fleet, including hydro, geothermal, wind, and coal.
REGULATORY
The Emissions Trading Scheme, Net Zero 2050 and shifting government policy influence generator behaviours.
TIMING
Changes to hydro storage and government policy mean windows of opportunity can be very limited in the energy market.
That’s why engaging independent energy consultants who understand the variables, the available options and when to time procurement events is so worthwhile.
Let’s look at different scenarios where our clients saved significant sums because they had Total Utilities on their side.
TIMING MATTERS Leaving a negotiation too late gives retailers an unfair advantage, as customers have limited options to choose from. A large university’s contract was due to expire, and they were concerned about going to market too soon. They usually would wait until two or three months before expiry to begin researching options. However, we encouraged them to procure their contract with eight months to go. In doing so, they avoided a 36% cost increase and saved over $2 million.
WE ARE LEVERAGING COMPETITIVE TENSION: A national food producer was given a renewal offer from their energy supplier and told that this was the most competitive option in the market.At Total Utilities, though, we understand that retailers don’t always put their best foot forward unless you give them a push. After we went through a competitive tender process, we negotiated a new renewal offer of over $500,000 less than the previous offer.
DOWNGRADING YOUR METER CAN MAKE A DRAMATIC DIFFERENCE An Auckland-based packaging customer was facing a 40% cost increase over three years. Their retailer was only giving them pricing based on their current meter configuration. This is typical in New Zealand because, unlike other countries, there isn’t a fully contestable meter supplier market. Despite being a large commercial customer, they could downgrade their meter because of their connection size. Total Utilities helped with the meter downgrade and negotiated new pricing on their behalf. As a result, they reduced their cost increase by 75% over three years and saved $200,000. The customer couldn’t believe that changing their meter would have such an impact on their new contract prices.
WE ARE ACTING QUICKLY TO HELP CLIENTS IN NEED A Christchurch-based supplier and manufacturer of commercial refrigeration equipment had been out of contract for more than two months. Struggling on their own to get offers for energy supply, they were at risk of costly spot pricing. Spot pricing changes every half hour making it a volatile and expensive route. The customer asked us for help after getting a renewal offer from their current supplier. The trouble was the offer represented a whopping 225% increase over the next 12 months.Within just five days, we presented the customer with our recommendations. We laid out several energy supply options with different retailers. The best option was 150% lower over the first 12 months than the one previous. What’s more, the new contract was backdated over two months. This meant they avoided default spot prices. Overall, the best option was 27% more cost-competitive over the term of the agreement.
The right energy procurement is crucial
Total Utilities are so much more than negotiators. We have a deep and long-term understanding of the energy market and the many factors that influence supply, price, and demand.You don’t have to settle for the first offer on the table. By engaging us, we leverage the right timing and competitive tension to get you the most favourable terms, saving you significant sums of money over the duration of your contract.
PowerRadar™ helps reduce capital expenditures and increases storage capacity at a 40-hectare commercial water port
As the southernmost commercial deep-water port in New Zealand, South Port NZ worked with Total Utilities to implement Centrica Business Solutions’ Panoramic PowerTM technology – avoiding costly upgrade projects and increasing available storage capacity.
Increasing capacity of available on-site storage
South Port NZ is a deep-water port on a 40-hectare Island located in Bluff, New Zealand, from where it provides a full range of marine services, cargo and container shipping, and on-site warehousing for domestic and international customers.
In 2019, South Port NZ partnered with Total Utilities to better understand the actual power demand of the site, identify opportunities to increase existing storage capacity and deliver customised solutions to meet the needs of customers on the island. An initial supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) solution was proposed by a 3rd party vendor to address the needs, which came with a price tag of NZD$800,000.
As a partner of Centrica Business Solutions, Total Utilities installed Panoramic Power wireless, device-level, energy monitoring sensors at the port. After a month of capturing the data and analysing it using Centrica Business Solutions’ complimentary energy management software, PowerRadar, South Port NZ deployed an additional 229 Panoramic Power sensors and over 30 communication bridges across the port with minimal interruption to operations. Within days, the on-site infrastructure team gained real-time, granular visibility into the energy consumption and operation of their critical assets across the site.
The easy-to-install energy insights solution now transmits data securely via cellular connectivity – monitoring more assets than the initial proposed SCADA solution, at a fraction of the cost.
80% increase in container storage days compared to previous year
10mins to collect data from 51 revenue meters across site
$600k savings from avoided capital project expenses (USD)
“PowerRadar provides real-time data on demand versus capacity which allows us to maximize our electrical infrastructure while minimizing risk. Being just a team of three looking after a 40-hectare island and the engineering infrastructure, it takes a lot of our time. So, having something like this that provides us real-time data, easy data, saves us a lot of time.”
Jason Paul, Project Engineer, South Port NZ
Prior to installing Panoramic Power, the infrastructure team had been unable to determine the maximum number of refrigeration storage units that could be brought online at any given time. As such, only eighty electrical plugs were available at any time – 1 per refrigeration storage unit – within two substations dedicated to handling refrigeration reefers for port customers.
With real-time visibility of the measured load across the electrical substations in PowerRadar, the infrastructure team realised that the electrical capacity for these substations was being underutilised – adding more plugs to these substations doubled the reefer capacity to 160 without any major or costly upgrades.
Streamlining resources for managing assets
One of the hurdles of the day-to-day operations at the port was the amount of time spent in collecting data from submeters to bill the port customers. Typically, it would take one of the port personnel three days every six months to capture the readings from all 51 revenue meters around the port, regardless of the weather conditions. Using PowerRadar, it now takes them only 10 minutes to collect the meter information before it is passed to their accounting department for invoicing customers.
With the monitoring of the sewer pump stations at the port using PowerRadar, the infrastructure team now receives real-time alerts on the status of the motors operated at those stations. This has enabled the reallocation of limited resources to other critical assets at the port. One of the benefits of such reallocation was the detection of surface water ingress at the pump stations by the infrastructure team, having compared the measured power draw of the pumps to available rain data.
Coupled with cameras installed in the pipes at the pump stations, it is now possible for the infrastructure team to track the amount of surface water ingress at each station on days with rainfall and implement any corrective measures.
Effective planning for infrastructure projects
When trying to identify which assets at the port should be prioritised for capital upgrade projects, the infrastructure team relied on the energy consumption data in PowerRadar. This enabled the team, particularly in the design phase, to plan future expansions as well as ongoing maintenance of the existing electrical infrastructure at the port.
An energy audit was completed for one of the large electrical substations being monitored at the port. The findings resulted in the approval of a large capital project for implementing changes to the substation, with a projected increase of up to 350 reefers in total on the port and an expected payback within one year.
To ensure the reliability of the substations to handle loads within the port’s electrical network, especially during periods of storing large refrigerator containers, the infrastructure team uses the real-time energy dashboard within PowerRadar to track the maximum power demand from the combined substations. If the power draw approaches 1 MW, the team can begin to consider bringing backup generators online or other ways of taking some load off the power grid at the port.
By choosing to implement Panoramic Power across the site, South Port NZ reduced their capital expenditures by US$600,000 and achieved an increase of 80% in container storage days compared to the previous year. In addition, South Port NZ is now able to report on their carbon footprint annually, provide automatic reports on monthly energy use to port users and streamline efforts in identifying areas of high energy usage for investigating ways to lower the peak demand at the port.
