Hunter businesses are reaping the benefits of a simple energy comparison service that has delivered potential savings to some operators of more than $10,000 a year.
The Hunter Business Chamber is helping businesses in the region beat power bill blues through the 5in5 awareness campaign, which aims to achieve $5 million in energy savings for businesses and residents across the state in the next five weeks.
Businesses can use the campaign’s free online energy comparison service to make sure they’re on the best plan for them – if not, the chamber will help them find a better deal.
Newcastle-based Creative Childcare is one of the local success stories, with projected savings of more than $11,000 per year across their three sites, while WEA Hunter will shave $8,000 a year off its power bills. Rutherford manufacturer NET Modular stands to save $36,000 after renegotiating contracts across its sites.
Creative Childcare Operations Director, Michelle Neil said she was amazed how easy it was to make such substantial savings.
“As owners of three childcare centres, we know how expensive energy bills can be and we’re very excited to be part of the energy saving plan that Hunter Business Chamber offered,” Michelle said.
“The process was very easy and the $11,500 per year we will save across the three sites will allow us to invest more into our centres.”
WEA Hunter also accessed the energy comparison service through the Hunter Business Chamber.
“This was a great success for us and allowed us to see where we could save money and more efficiently use our resources,” Senior Manager, Michael De Lyall said.
“I would recommend this service for any business, large or small.”
With more than 90 per cent of businesses citing energy prices as a primary budget concern, Hunter Business Chamber CEO, Bob Hawes said providing the comparison service was one way the chamber could help businesses cut costs.
“We’ve found that eight out of 10 businesses aren’t on the best deal,” Bo said.
“By shopping around for them, we’ve collectively achieved savings across the Hunter of $700,000 for businesses in a diverse range of industries, including accountancy, manufacturing, social services, business technology, education, and motorhome services.”
The service is also available to residential customers.
IMAGE | Director of Creative Childcare’s Newcastle centre, Kymberly Smith.
