by chris | Mar 20, 2013 | Energy
Larger Time Of Use (TOU) Vector customers with an existing reactive load problem could get caught on the hop by new electricity charges due to come on line next month. This cost increase will also impact on the electricity retailer’s medium-sized and small business customers.
The Power Factor (PF) charge, designed to penalise poor power practices, currently stands at 3c/unit of reactive power (kVArh). This charge will rise to $2.00/unit from April 1st 2013 and then by a further $6.00 to $8.00/unit by next year. These increases bring their customers into line with standard industry charges say Vector.
The maths: A small company currently paying $14 per year in PF penalties will be paying over $900 in 2013 and more than $3,600 per annum from 2014 onwards.
Why increase the Power Factor charge?
This ‘new’ charge is not price gouging. It is a necessary measure to fine-tune New Zealand Inc. for productivity and to optimise the power supply network. Many of the lines companies around New Zealand have been applying this PF penalty for years as have almost all larger electricity clients in Auckland.
Poor power practices create an artificial load on the supply system. The current charge of 3c per unit is levied on reactive power that is more than 5% out of alignment. The charge is specifically aimed at customers who draw power in ways that creates an artificial load on the supply system through poor practices. It is effectively a tax on laziness.
What can you do to minimise charges?
The simplest way to improve Power Factor is to install a Power Factor Correction unit at your site. The wrong capacitor for the job is possibly worse than none at all so should be a professional job, not a DIY.
For more information and independent advice on the best PF charge solution for your business, contact TUMG on 09 576 2107 .
by chris | Mar 20, 2013 | Energy
Power Factor can be likened to carrying a plank through a door. If the plank is lined up, it will fit through a regular door without hitting the frame, but if the plank is taken through side on, you’ll need a wider door or you’ll cause damage. Our supply network is designed as a regular door and the PF penalty is to pay for the damage caused by all those bumps.
From a more technical point of view, power factor is the measure of how effectively electrical power is being used in the conversion of current to work. The higher the PF, the more effectively electrical power is utilised. Unused power migrates back and forwards generating heat and wasting some energy. The energy wastage is not that significant in itself, but the extra capacity cost sits with Vector. The PF penalty is designed to make users aware of the unnecessary losses and costs in the supply of power.
For more information and independent advice on the best PF charge solution for your business, contact TUMG on 09 576 2107 .
by chris | Mar 20, 2013 | Energy
Power factor correction units (or PFC Units) consist of capacitors which act as reactive current generators. By providing the reactive power, they reduce the total amount of power you must draw from the network. The dynamic PFC automatically and safely compensates for changing load and helping the business avoid PF charge penalties.
The wrong capacitor for the job is possibly worse than none at all so should be a professional job, not DIY.
For more information and independent advice on the best PFC solution for your business, contact TUMG on 09 576 2107
What are Power Factor charges?
New PF charges in place for Vector customers from April 1st 2013.
by RichardGardiner | Feb 18, 2013 | Energy
Signing up with TUMG well ahead of their contract renewal date paid off for a group of 57 energy clients at the end of 2012. Unusually aggressive pricing from Meridian and then Contact in December created a savings opportunity that TUMG was quick to exploit. Energy savings of more than $6million resulted for participating customers – an average of 16.8% per customer.
“Towards the end of November we started to see extremely aggressive pricing from Meridian throughout NZ for time of use (TOU) half hour metered large commercial customers,” explained Chris Hargreaves, Electricity Analyst at TUMG.
“This was unusual as Meridian has not been competitive for quite some time. The new pricing was on par with what was being quoted over four years ago so it represented a major shift. We tracked winning Fixed Price Variable Pricing (FPVV) for Upper North Island customers and saw a massive drop of around 20% from March 2012 to December 2012.”
A number of customers had signed up early – between three and six months prior to their expiry date – so TUMG was able to act on this information immediately. (more…)
by RichardGardiner | Feb 18, 2013 | Energy
A new face has joined the TUMG team this year – Jonathan Woodbridge Buys is the company’s new Energy & Environment Technology Associate. Jonathan’s role is to help clients increase their operational efficiency and reduce consumption of electricity, gas and water at source.
This service will further build upon TUMG’s long-standing success reducing utilities costs by securing the best tariffs and terms through individual and bulk tenders. In short, TUMG can now sum up its complete service offering as ‘spend less and consume less’.
Jonathan strong track record applying for and accessing EECA grants for energy saving projects on behalf of organisations like Sky City and Manukau City Council will also offer clients a significant advantage, says Managing Director Richard Gardiner.
“Jonathan has a wealth of experience and has proved his worth many times over in previous roles. We are delighted to welcome him to the team and look forward to introducing Jonathan to our clients over the coming months,” he said.
During a five year stint as Energy Manager at Sky City, Jonathan was responsible for projects which won two commendations from the 2010 EECA Energy Awards and commendations in the 2010 IES Lighting Awards. (more…)
by RichardGardiner | Sep 14, 2012 | Energy
Coping with the worst recession in living memory has forced businesses to leave no stone unturned in the quest to improve their bottom line. Electricity is one cost that impacts on everyone and businesses impacted by the deregulated NZ energy markets fall into two basic categories:
1. Non-time of Use customers
Businesses with energy usage per ICP (Installation Connection Point) below approximately 200000 kWh per year (the actual figure varies dependent on the local lines company) are likely to be supplied on a non-time of use basis. These sites will have a standard non-TOU meter and be billed per kWh used and days supplied. This billing approach is similar to the metering of residential customers, although business electricity rates are generally significantly better.
2. Time of Use customers (TOU)
Businesses with energy usage per site above the 200000 kWh threshold will most likely be TOU customers. TOU rates are typically split into either 48-rate pricing (4 energy rates per month) or 144-rate pricing (12 rates per month). TOU pricing is customer specific although it is heavily impacted by prevailing market conditions when going out to tender. (more…)
