Overseeing electricity data across a global portfolio of renewable energy sources presents a considerable challenge. The sheer volume of information, from meter readings to invoice data, requires a substantial time investment from energy procurement teams as it involves significant manual effort in compiling data from sources like Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs). To free up internal resources and reduce the burden on in-house staff, businesses should optimize their electricity data reporting by leveraging technologies and automating manual processes.
The Challenges of Managing Electricity Data
For effective electricity data analysis, depending solely on general-purpose ERPs, spreadsheets, and manual data exchanges is no longer sufficient. The necessary data comes from multiple sources — registry and utility portals, e-mails, PDFs, and supplier reports — gathering all of this can prove time-consuming and unreliable in terms of execution, timing, quality, and consistency. These efforts can take up the full bandwidth of at least two full-time employees.
Another hurdle for companies managing renewable energy data is the absence of standardized formats and protocols. Inconsistencies in tracking and analyzing data sets can lead to potential errors and inefficiencies in data management related to energy certificates and PPA monitoring. Businesses that utilize a mix of renewable and traditional energy sources especially can focus on optimizing their electricity data reporting. Manual processes and siloed data systems can limit oversight of real-time data on consumption patterns, making it difficult to identify areas for improvement where a different procurement strategy could help increase the amount of renewable energy consumption. Ultimately, lack of visibility can result in poor management of electricity use, leading to an increased reliance on non-renewable sources and exposure to costly wholesale energy prices during demand spikes.
The Importance of Accurate Electricity Data Management
With energy reporting schemes evolving their guidelines for corporate sustainability disclosures, accurate electricity data reporting is crucial. Failure to provide reliable data can lead to penalties, reputational damage, and difficulty securing future investments. The latest RE100 annual report for instance, found that 21% of corporate RE claims could not be recognized.
Non-compliance to voluntary schemes in one thing, but with mandatory disclosures like Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) coming into play, it could be very costly for businesses to not have the right information to back up their mandatory reporting disclosures soon. Saving your bottom line requires implementation of proper electricity data management practices and verification of your company’s renewable energy claims.
A frequently overlooked step is confirming that the number of Energy Attribute Certificates (EACs) a company receives is in line with their renewable energy purchases. This prevents companies from getting caught out in the auditing process, where due to a simple oversight it could be found you do not have enough EACs to back up your claims. It’s also best to ensure you have a view on if you are missing any EACs before it comes close to reporting deadlines, so you can purchase any extra that you need when prices are favorable.
Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) based on weather-dependent energy sources like wind and solar also come with volumetric risk. This means that the actual electricity generated may not match what's been contracted. If less energy is produced, companies might have to buy extra renewable energy at potentially higher market prices. This is a risk that can be better managed by having a data informed overview of how much electricity a PPA asset will produce at any given time.
Benefits of Digital Electricity Data Management
By leveraging the efficiency, accuracy, and insights offered by digital solutions, companies can better navigate the capricious energy landscape. Below are some of the benefits of digitalizing electricity data management:
- Enhances Efficiency
Automating repetitive tasks like manually collecting and compiling data on weather patterns or energy production can shift staff focus towards higher-value initiatives like analysis and strategy development. Digital solutions can also automate report generation, eliminating the need for manual data aggregation.
- Improved Data Accuracy and Visibility
Manually entering data can lead to mistakes. By investing in robust digital platforms, businesses can eliminate this risk by capturing data from meters, certificates and invoices, improving data quality for analysis and electricity data reporting.
- Data-Driven Decision Making
Comprehensive data analysis reveals the best areas for enhancing procurement performance. By addressing this, companies can improve their strategy and reduce exposure to both costly wholesale energy prices and non-renewable resources.
How Flexidao Can Help with Electricity Data Management
Flexidao’s centralized platform consolidates all of your electricity contracts and certificate data in one place and provides easy-to-understand visualizations. Our digital solutions enable real-time data dashboards, providing immediate insights into energy production and consumption patterns, allowing you to report and strategize on your electricity portfolio in a much simpler and effective way. With quick data exports in the mix, you will find it easier than ever before to manage your energy portfolio.
Optimize Your Energy Management Today
Take the next step towards refining your electricity data management with Flexidao. Our platform is designed to make global portfolio management easier than ever before through streamlined reporting, user-friendly visualizations, and automated data collection processes.