by RichardGardiner | Nov 25, 2013 | Energy
Total Utilities Management Group, New Zealand’s leading independent utilities procurement and energy management company has entered into an alliance with Australian company EnergyAdvice to deliver Trans-Tasman energy management, procurement and energy efficiency solutions for large energy users in New Zealand and Australia.
“Large organisations wanting to take a ‘whole of company’ perspective on energy and carbon management and reporting are looking for companies with a combination of global reach and local expertise to assist them,” said Total Utilities Managing Director Richard Gardiner.
“It is this need for country-specific expertise that has driven our Trans-Tasman alliance with EnergyAdvice. The relationship allows us to bring highly specific knowledge of local regulations and markets to our clients in the highly complex energy market.” (more…)
by Jonathan Gardiner | Nov 13, 2013 | Energy
By now you should have received your October natural gas accounts. If you are in the Vector or Powerco networks you should have seen a reduction in your overall cost of gas. The ‘gas year’ runs from October to September and a raft of industry costs are reviewed annually ahead of October 1st. Typically an inflation adjustment is passed through with metering, network and transmission charge changes applying.
The good news this year for most natural gas customers, especially those based in Auckland, is that the annual review should result in lower costs. The Commerce Commission has enforced two sets of reductions – in transmission and distribution. The change to transmission costs affects all customers. As such, the charging methodology and overall level of the charge has changed. (more…)
by Jonathan Gardiner | Sep 23, 2013 | Waste
The way that Aucklanders pay for their waste water is set to change from June 2014. This will impact on the financial reality for many schools and businesses over the next four years.
Getting in and being proactive about these changes will allow organisations to manage their water budget better during the transitional period between now and June 2016, advised Jonathan Woodbridge Buys, Energy and Environment Technology Associate at Total Utilities.
Why are water tariffs changing?
The unification of Auckland brought together seven local councils and their water services, with many differing tariffs for water usage into one clear structure.
Auckland SuperCity water provider, WaterCare, has introduced a single clear fee structure for the whole of Auckland for regular water services. This four-tiered fee structure will consist of three parts: two are based on the measured volume of fresh water used and the assessed volume of waste water returned to treatment, and the third part is a service levy.
The charge for fresh water is a straightforward fixed fee across all four tariff plans. Usage will put into bands: low, moderate, high and industrial, based on the volume of water used. The cost per litre of waste water returned to treatment will vary according to usage volumes and an assessed portion is rebated.
How will waste water tariffs be calculated?
The waste water percentage calculation is more complex. Organisations in the North Shore and Waitakere are used to paying a high flat fee for water management and will have no historical assessment of the percentage of their water that ends up in the sewer. In these cases, WaterCare will audit water usage in order to establish the percentage waste water charge. (more…)
by RichardGardiner | Sep 18, 2013 | Energy
Seventeen Clubs NZ members have saved a total of $362,000 on their power bills this year by handing their contract negotiations over to Total Utilities Management Group. With an average saving of more than $21,000 per club over the two to three year contract term, members are more than happy with the service offered at a special rate to Clubs NZ by Total Utilities.
“I was astounded by the results we achieved by putting our power out to tender through Total Utilities,” said Hamilton Working Mens Club General Manager, Richard Shrubsall.
“All the relevant supplier offers were presented to me in a fully transparent report, written in plain English. There were no hidden costs and all the comparisons were made on a ‘like for like’ basis. The actual savings we achieved were outstanding. I was so impressed that I have already highly recommended Total Utilities to other clubs.”
If you want to discuss your power costs with Total Utilities, call Linda MacIver on either 09 576 2107 or 021 886 034 or go to tumg.co.nz.
by DavidSpratt | Jul 18, 2013 | ICT
Increasingly businesses are looking to the web to source IT service and infrastructure alternatives. Nothing indicates this more clearly than Amazon’s change of venue announcement for their annual Web Services conference last month. The company had to move its conference from the originally planned venue to the Aotea Centre in response to an unprecedented 2000+ registrations.
When you put this in the context of Google’s recent tripling of its free storage offer (from 5GB to 15GB) across cloud storage, Gmail and Google+ photos, the plot thickens.
Since Google launched Google Drive last year, it has put competitive pressure on other smaller cloud storage suppliers like DropBox and YouSendIt. This trend is unlikely to reverse.
New ‘Infrastructure as a Service’ offerings from global players like Google, Amazon, Microsoft and RackSpace are challenging the more conventional options of owning storage infrastructure or out-sourcing to New Zealand-based providers. (more…)
by RichardGardiner | May 29, 2013 | Energy
A group of six clubs cut their energy bills by almost 20% – saving them a massive $175,400 – by handing their power negotiations over to Total Utilities Management Group.
Savings ranged from $18,500 to $54,400 on the contestable energy part of their Time Of Use (TOU) bills – which excludes fixed line charges.
The clubs ranged from North Island RSAs and Cosmopolitan Clubs to South Island Working Mens Clubs. Steve Andrews of Manurewa RSA, who has a 13 year track record working with TUMG, saved 17% on his club’s electricity bill and fixed his power price until 2015. Not quite the $80,000 rebate that TUMG had achieved for him a few years earlier, but still a saving worth having.
By taking the energy requirements of clubs out to market as a group, TUMG is able to negotiate great power prices. Analysts then document and recommend the best supplier to suit each club’s needs and advise them on the most beneficial contract terms.
All the club manager has to do is supply one month’s electricity account details and TUMG does the rest. Based on the average saving gained by this group of six clubs, TUMG’s fixed fee will currently be repaid in savings within two months of the new contract term – leaving the remaining 34 months’ savings to go straight into the clubs’ bank accounts.
Current market conditions are extremely good for Time of Use (TOU) pricing according to TUMG analysts. “TOU pricing is holding at an unusually low level at the moment,” says TUMG’s Chris Hargreaves. “Clubs have the opportunity to lock in pricing for the next three years by renewing their contracts– when TOU prices change, they can change quickly so our advice is to act now.”
Read more about Manurewa RSA & TUMG…
To talk to TUMG about your power contract pricing, call 09 5762107
To find out more go to www.tumg.co.nz
