A company has to make a profit, and one of the best ways it can do that is to cut corners without cutting quality.
There are ways companies can save a little money without taking it out on the employees or breaking the bank to the point of bankruptcy. Saving money on utilities, specifically electricity, is a place to start.
If your business operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with customers in your center at all times, no doubt your light bills are going to be higher. It is basic math. Business with 9-to-5 employees will use far less electricity than businesses constantly going around the clock.
Even though the lights are on and someone is always home, it does not mean money needs to be wasted on electricity costs. Buying electricity in bulk may be a good way to go. Companies will work with you based on your power consumption, hours of operation and what it is your business does that consumes so much electricity. They may show you ways to save money, either by practicing different methods of saving electricity or by bundling services like electric and gas together.
A recent Forbes survey showed electric company rates in dallas seem to skyrocket, with an average price of nearly 13 cents per kilowatt hour and an average electric bill of $162 a month. It is not hard to understand why rates in Dallas are higher. After all, have you tried living in Dallas in June, July or August? The stifling heat and humidity jack up the pressure on air conditioners and power supplies. Although the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex contains a strong power grid, the stress on it can be high. Ways to lower your business costs in Dallas include turning down the air when no one is in your building or fewer people are present.
Honolulu is the same way, with a rate of nearly $150 a month (residentially) and 21.8 cents per kilowatt hour. Think of how far Hawaii is from the mainland and you understand why everything is so expensive in the nation’s 50th state. Lower fuel costs are helping to cut those prices somewhat. If you can strike a bargain on the cost of fuel you use for electrical power, that will go a long way toward lowering electricity costs.
Most cities in Florida like Tampa, Orlando and Miami also fall into the high-cost category, thanks mainly to the stifling summer heat. A business like Florida Power and Light will be able to negotiate lower rates with business customers based on electricity usage. Contract negotiation may produce cheaper long-term rates or other special savings.
You have heard about high-cost electricity in cities, but the question begs asking. What are lower-cost cities where you can do business?
Seattle is one of those low-cost alternatives. In fact, City Light, Seattle’s prime power supplier, just lowered rates for high-demand users by 4.1 percent in a recently-passed bill for 2013. The rates will go up in 2014 by 6.1 percent, resulting in a net gain of two percent. As recently as a few years ago, the electricity rates per month for Seattle were around $50.
Again, this has to do more with weather than anything. Seattle’s climate tends to be cooler and rainier, as opposed to sunny and steaming.
Think of the cost of energy as a business. Most companies will work with you when you shop around for lower electric rates, because they would rather have you as a customer with lower rates than not have you at all. Upgrading to newer, lower-cost lighting will save a few dollars here and there, as will not activating the air conditioning at a moment’s notice. Dollars have to stretch, and yours will too with a little practice.
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