Amongst the fastest expanding sectors of the gas and oil market is energy solutions. Energy service firms cover a wide spectrum of energy industry providers. An energy service company (ESCO) is a company that offers thorough energy solutions to their customers, which include auditing, redesigning and developing modifications to the ways the consumer utilizes energy, the main mission being elevated efficiency.
It has become apparent that the “new norm” post COVID19 is driving firms to look at their business models and adapt consequently. Over time we’ve seen the birth of the high tech energy service company.
Principally energy service providers pay attention to lowering energy usage and saving organizations on energy expenses by a wide range of methods this includes regulatory energy consumption and reduced rate agreements with regards to energy management advisory firms. Throughout the 1990’s we had a rise of independent energy service providers due largely to deregulation and the rising cost of energy. Three years in to the Trump presidency we have seen a noticeable wide deregulation in the energy market which obviously benefits energy service companies.
In 2006 the trade group NAESCO reported energy service providers increased by 22% and boasted $2.6 billion in income marking an important moment for energy service companies throughout the nation. In Canada the popularity of the energy service company also grew dramatically primarily in the oil abundant province of Alberta.
There’s quite a few options of energy service companies which include but not limited to: meter testing and proving, fuel flare venting, sampling and analysis, shutdowns & turnarounds, industrial cleansing and a lot of other energy providers. A couple other service include water treatment, transportation, pipeline monitoring, automation, midstream and downstream solutions and energy savings and administration.
Consulting and negotiating energy prices is a different in-demand service as energy management firms have now been appearing all around Canada and the US to fill the demand for more cost effective prices. The primary focus of energy consultants should be to save their client dough by negotiating energy prices and making current operations more cost effective. Energy consultants generally get started with their contracts by carrying out a comprehensive energy review and developing a start line. This delivers a routine of current energy usage which sets out to ascertain reference points so the energy management consultant can display any future cost savings. The pluses of working directly with top organizational directors is that when a decision must be made its made right away. That is why energy consultants work with and report to, corporate administrators. Whereas energy management firms work independently of the organization employing them, it’s a reality that energy consultants work up close with management for many reasons.
Of the plethora of different providers available, some may include shutdown solutions, new plant construction, fuel flare venting, well service providers and chemical cleanup to name a few. As to be expected across much of the world, coronavirus has forced the industry to rediscover itself and therefore we are now seeing many companies adapt to this “new normal”.
We spoke with Caleb Totman, an operations executive with Lightspeed Energy Services and here’s what he had to say.
“Fantastic to chat to you today so thank you for permitting me to explain. Frankly we see situations a little different than most by seizing this moment to reconsider how this infection will influence our work setting and transforming what we can to support our people safe while remaining productive.”
Caleb Totman
Turnaround service is yet another aspect to the assortment of service by energy service companies which involves project administration during operational shutdowns of plants at the time of maintenance. This form of service can involve numerous other service within it such as regulative, measurement, meter proving and many more. Based on the size of the project, these projects traditionally last from 2 to 6 weeks.
Market guidelines and governmental and industry regulations are the principal focal point to which all energy service providers must operate. The company of energy service could mean many things but the one commonality with them all is the common mission of decreasing energy rates and making current processes more cost-effective.
Long ahead of COVID we had already begun to see utility organizations start to transform themselves and make themselves more significant by grouping services you may not of previous thought they could offer. Things like internet providers now offering bundles with TV and home phone on top of the internet service. In Canada and the US this transformation has already launched with leading utility providers bundling their services and mating them with reduced rates, in an effort to attract people and companies to entrust them with all of their energy service needs. This phenomena was the start of the modern-day energy provider re-inventing themselves as a twin pack offer both the service providers like a utility company and the energy itself.
You are most likely wondering that if this really is happening then wouldn’t that make private ESCOs outdated? Lastly, you should note that energy service is a thriving company that incorporates a myriad of different job specific solutions when in the oilfields or on the rig.