July 26, 2024 How POWWR Has Reduced Risk for CN Brown

How POWWR’s Managed Services have reduced risk and protected margins for CN Brown.

“By leaning upon POWWR’s managed services we can focus on our customers a bit more.” Lori Hemmerdinger, Sales Manager, CN Brown

Introduction

CN Brown Energy is a full-service energy provider specialising in electricity, heating fuels, gasoline, diesel, and natural gas. Founded in 1948, it is a well-respected family-owned business that employs over 1000 people and has become a major contender in the competitive petroleum market throughout Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts. In addition to being a full-service energy provider, the company operates 73 Big Apple stores, 24 heating oil offices and 9 service stations that delivers to over 100 gasoline dealers.

The power to succeed

Since the electricity market in New England was deregulated in 2000, homeowners and small businesses alike have enjoyed the same savings large commercial users long benefitted from due to the healthy competition it brought. CN Brown Energy’s solutions have proved particularly popular with customers in the region looking to lower their household costs and increase commercial profitability while being kinder to the planet.

The challenge

Like most energy provides, CN Brown carries a lot of risk servicing its clients. It needs to procure the right amount of energy at the right price, and then price that energy correctly to the end user. It is a balancing act, with improper pricing reducing margins that are already tight.

Insight equals intelligence. Yet, effectively scheduling the forecasted load each day requires specialist skills and is highly data intensive. It is time-consuming and requires constant attention. CN Brown felt it did not have the internal expertise or resources available to be able to forecast effectively. This was impacting the bottom line. It was, therefore, time to seek help.

The solution

CN Brown turned to POWWR. Whilst it was impressed by the company’s bespoke best-in-class SaaS technology, it was the managed services based upon it that were most attractive. “I could see that POWWR’s managed service would make my life a lot easier and save me a lot of time,” commented Lori Hemmerdinger, Sales Manager at CN Brown. “Intelligence is key in our business and POWWR provides it in droves. Much of the information POWWR provides we simply wouldn’t be able to maintain ourselves.”

Often, what energy providers seek is a clear-cut path to desired business outcomes. POWWR’s managed services team has over 200 years of electricity and natural gas risk and position management experience. It can reduce risk for energy suppliers such as CN Brown by managing forecasting and extreme weather scenarios, scheduling and nominations, hedging, and portfolio management.

“Each day, POWWR provides CN Brown with a pricing matrix showing us what we should be charging their clients for energy. This helps us protect our margins by pricing our products correctly,” explained Hemmerdinger.  

POWWR also provides Hemmerdinger and her team with accurate daily deliverables forecasting based upon extensive analysis of weather patterns. This is led by POWWR’s in-house climatologist. Accurate forecasting is increasingly important as climate change has led to more weather volatility than ever before. As well as providing CN Brown with a prediction of what the load will look like under numerous weather scenarios, POWWR also quantifies the volumetric swing risk, informing CN Brown with a strategic hedge decision.

POWWR also provides CN Brown with a full set of reports for both internal management and key external parties. “These reports provide us with a full audit trial of our activities, which is particularly useful in helping us adhere to the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) so that we obtain our applicable renewable energy credits,” said Hemmerdinger.

The result

“Through using POWWR’s managed services we get more powerful insight than ever before,” enthused Hemmerdinger. “Our daily positions and the scheduling of them is tuned right in. With POWWER, the accuracy of the data and reporting is tremendous. So much so, that the dedicated loads we request from the independent system operator (ISO) each day is now accurate to about 5%. It was previously 10%.”

It is not just the accuracy of the data that Hemmerdinger appreciates, but the professionalism of the team. “We have a great relationship with the team and find having another set of eyes on the market so that we know what might be coming down the line extremely valuable. We particularly appreciate POWWR’s in-house climatologist and his regular weather updates,” she added. “More than anything though, by leaning upon POWWR’s managed services we now have the ability to focus on our customers a bit more.”

“Improper forecasting and hedging is the number one risk for an energy provider,” commented Matt Tormollen, CEO, POWWR. “Without a proper forecast and hedging strategy, an energy provider is exposed to volatility in the market, which can erode margins. Through POWWR’s managed services, CN Brown now has the insight and intelligence it needs to reduce its overheads and maintain its margins.”

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