Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Who is Cost Containment?
A: Cost Containment (C2) provides customized Energy Management and Procurement Services to small, medium, and large-sized commercial, industrial and institutional customers throughout the United States. Cost Containment helps clients manage, control and reduce electricity and natural gas costs through competitive bidding and energy services.
Cost Containment staff are senior members or received certification in the following:
-The Certified Energy Procurement designation with AEE
-The Association of Energy Engineers
-Cogeneration & Competitive Power Institute of AEE
-Association of Energy Services Professionals
-Demand-Side Management Society of AEE
-Energy Services Marketing Society of AEE
Q: Is Cost Containment also an energy supplier?
A: No, Cost Containment is an independent company that works with all suppliers of natural gas and electricity on behalf of its clients.
Q: What experience does Cost Containment have in energy procurement?
A: The Cost Containment energy management and procurement teams have assisted 1,000s of accounts reduce their natural gas and electric energy costs ranging from fast food franchises to the John Hancock Center in downtown Chicago.
Q: What type of energy is procured through Cost Containment?
A: Cost Containment specializes in the procurement of natural gas and electricity for its commercial, industrial and institutional clients. In addition, energy conservation measures to reduce consumption can be reviewed and implemented for a client.
Clients
Q: Who uses Cost Containment?
A: All sizes of commerical accounts who do not have the time, resources or expertise to optimize the purchase of energy in very complicated and highly volatile markets. Cost Containment clients include manufacturers, retail stores, financial institutions, hospitals, school districts, universities and government entities.
Q: What geographic area does Cost Containment currently service?
A: Nationwide in all deregulated markets.
Q: Why use Cost Containment instead of dealing directly with a supplier?
A:Cost Containment is an independent consulting company that owns pricing agreements throughout the nation with over 100 active suppliers in the electricity and natural gas markets. The pricing agreements that Cost Containment has put in place allow for competition between the suppliers for your business.
C2 Energy Exchange is the exclusive online procurement program Cost Containment uses to coordinate all the suppliers competing for your business. And when suppliers compete, your costs go down.
The dynamics of the energy market are volatile sometimes changing by the hour. The supplier with the best price a day, a week, a month or a year ago may not be the most competitive at the time the client decides to sign an energy savings contract. In addition, the client’s energy profile can further maximize savings with one supplier over the rest simply due to the supplier’s pricing structure. All of these considerations and more are examined when Cost Containment works with their clients.
Cost Containment also has the purchasing power of 1000’s of clients’ locations combined, Cost Containment delivers the best price and best energy program to each of their clients.
Q: How much time and resources will it take to make to set up the Strategic Energy Plan?
A: Cost Containment, acting as an extension a client's staff frees the client's resources so that the client can focus on business critical needs, while the Cost Containment Operations Team focus on the client's energy needs. Cost Containment simplifies the process by providing a single point of access to all energy suppliers, developing a client-approved procurement Strategic Plan and monitoring the energy markets in order to execute to the strategy when market conditions are favorable.
Q: What steps are involved in developing the Strategic Energy Plan?
1. Strategy meeting – Cost Containment and client
2. Obtain and analyze client's detailed energy usage patterns and levels
3. Preparing a solicitation for client's energy needs
4. Receiving bids from multiple suppliers
5. Cost Containment analyses those bids and the terms of supplier contracts
6. Presenting bids and Terms to the client *
7. Helping client to understand the bids *
8. Helping client decide which bid is best *
9. Awarding the deal to client's selected Supplier
10. Working through any credit issues with Supplier and client *
11. Reviewing client's/Supplier's contract to ensure it is correct
12. Transmitting contract to client
13. Client Executes Contract *
14. Receiving the executed contract back from the client
15. Forwarding executed contract to the Supplier
Suppliers
Q: How soon can I expect to see activity on my account?
A: Usually, within a day or two you will contacted by our Operations Team. Typically the entire process takes about two weeks. During the first week, a Cost Containment Operations Team will make initial contact with the Client to briefly explain the process and schedule a strategy meeting. On the scheduled date, the Consultant works with the client to develop a comprehensive energy procurement strategy designed to meet the client's specific needs and to schedule the "out-to-bid/closing date". The Cost Containment Operations Team will then execute the strategy per the timeline proposed.
Q: As a Cost Containment client, how do I know I will be happy with the contract and supplier chosen?
A: Cost Containment only deals with registered/licensed suppliers. Cost Containment clients will have time to review sample contracts for all suppliers that will be solicited and will have the opportunity to discuss any concerns with the Cost Containment Team before going to the market. Cost Containment, as your advisor will review all bids with the client, explaining all the specific provisions and the differences among supplier bids before the client selects the winning supplier. Cost Containment then will review the winning supplier's contract to ensure all provisions are accurate and correct before forwarding it to the client for execution. Finally, the Cost Containment Team is available to the client throughout the term of the engagement to answer any questions that arise or deal with any problems that surface.
Pricing
Q: How does Cost Containment help me get the best pricing?
A: Although low pricing is part of the equation, there are many other components that need to be weighed and balanced in a final supplier decision. Other factors include term of contract, physical storage opportunities, payment terms, and percentage "swing" and swing true-up provisions along risk of future price increases. Cost Containment works with clients to ensure they understand all of these factors and to develop the Strategic Energy Plan.
Cost Containment works with clients to understand their budget needs and risk tolerances in order to develop a Strategic Energy Plan (SEP). A SEP sets the guidelines to manage energy procurement in accordance with the client’s budget and risk tolerance goals.
Cost Containment does not become reactive to short-term market conditions such as hurricanes in the Gulf, a cold winter, a hot summer, or the weekly impact of natural gas storage levels by developing a Strategic Energy Plan with the client. While these natural events might cause a significant change in the energy market, Cost Containment explores multiple positions to minimize the factors that impact the client’s annual costs. Because no one can be right 100% of the time with volatile commodities, Cost Containment’s Strategic Energy Plan is designed to make sure we are never 100% wrong when reacting to a short-term event.
Q: Are there any costs associated using Cost Containment energy procurement and management?
A: The winning supplier pays Cost Containment a business origination fee over the term of the energy supply contract.
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