Summer Recap: 2021 Peak Hour In Review
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As we turn the page on summer 2021, we can unofficially designate Tuesday, June 29 as the day of the annual ISO New England system peak. During the 5-6pm hour on June 29, ISO New England reported a peak electricity load of 25,159 MW. This peak load is the highest reported in the region since 2018.
While it is likely that this day and hour will be deemed the 2021 annual system peak hour by ISO New England, it will not be made official until the first quarter of 2022. ISO will wait for the conclusion of 2021 and then take some time to review the data, and it is possible that this review may result in adjustments that shift the peak to another hour. It is also possible, though highly unlikely, that a new system peak could occur before the end of the year.
Once a peak hour is made official, each utility will issue updated capacity tags for eligible accounts based on each utility meter’s average kilowatt reading during the peak hour. These capacity tags will be made available in the spring of 2022 and will dictate the share of Forward Capacity Market costs borne by each utility account for the upcoming power year, running from May 2022 to June 2023. For more on capacity tags and forward capacity market charges, see our CES University video on the 2021 Peak Day.
In New England, our grid currently peaks during the hot, summer months driven by demand for electric air conditioning. This annual system peak has recently shifted later in the day toward early evening hours due to the adoption of distributed solar systems which begin to decline in output as the sun sets. With future trends toward more electric vehicles and the electrification of heating load through the installation of heat pumps, the seasonal and daily profile of electricity consumption on the New England grid will continue to change.
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Is Greenhouse Gas Reporting for You? |
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Are you tracking your carbon emissions? Do you have carbon reduction and sustainability goals?
Are you trying to meet a target by a certain date? If the answer is yes to any of these questions, your company could benefit from Greenhouse Gas Reporting.
What is Greenhouse Gas Reporting?
A Greenhouse Gas Report is created by compiling a company’s greenhouse gas (GHG) data and other relevant information from GHG sources of emissions – electricity, gas, heating systems, refrigerants, and others. This data is then categorized into scope 1, scope 2, and scope 3, each representing a different method of emissions caused by both direct and indirect economic activities. A GHG report tracks carbon emissions on an annual basis and compares the data against an established baseline year. This allows organizations to set reductions goals and track changes in emissions year-over-year.
To support clients in achieving their carbon reduction and sustainability goals, CES offers GHG inventory management using the CES Carbon Tracker reporting tool. CES Carbon Tracker compiles GHG source data to calculate emissions and create a “carbon footprint” associated with a company’s direct and indirect economic activities. These calculations are based on the latest national reporting standards and guidance available, including the Carbon Disclosures Project (CDP), World Resources Institute (WRI), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The methodology behind CES’ calculations is transparent and can be customized to meet the reporting needs of your business. This emissions inventory sets the baseline that allows CES Carbon Tracker users to assess potential benefits and associated costs of strategies and policies designed to reduce GHG emissions.
Client GHG Stories
A client since 2005, CES has helped Bowdoin College to comprehensively report on their GHG emissions since 2008. The annual GHG report has permitted Bowdoin to set GHG reduction goals, track progress against those goals, and inform GHG mitigation strategies. In 2007, Bowdoin College committed to become “carbon-neutral” by the year 2020. In April 2018, Bowdoin announced a very significant milestone, the College had achieved carbon neutrality two years ahead of the 2020 goal. To-date, Bowdoin has reduced annual total emissions nearly 50% from the 2008 baseline. To account for the remaining emissions in FY 2018 and each subsequent year, Bowdoin makes annual investments in carbon offsets with regional impacts, and in renewable electricity. These tools help the College maintain a net-zero carbon footprint as it continues to actively pursue ways to reduce its own-source greenhouse gas emissions. For more on Renewable Energy Credits, see this CES blog post on Emissions Accounting: Purchasing & Retiring Supplemental RECs and CES’ recently published video titled What is a REC? The Key Points.
Colby College partnered with CES to create a GHG report for an independent verification of their internal carbon emissions inventory. Following the verification, CES and Colby developed and implemented a carbon offset procurement strategy and further steps to reduce total net emissions at the college. CES was pleased to be able to help Colby become the first NESCAC or Ivy league school to achieve net zero carbon emissions in 2013. CES continues to work with Colby on strategies to reduce own-source GHG emissions each year.
In 2020, Wellington Management began emissions reporting. Working with CES, they developed a baseline and began inventorying their emissions in all three scopes. A geographically diverse company, Wellington Management has operations in several countries. Wellington’s report includes several international offices and also breaks down how business travel contributes to their emissions.
As local, state, and federal government entities set emissions reductions goals, it is imperative that companies have the tools they need to reach those targets. Contact your Energy Services Advisor or sales@competitive-energy.com to begin the process for your organization.
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How CES Variance Tracker Benefits Clients |
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Competitive Energy Services provides both tools and expertise that guide clients in making informed energy decisions. The CES Variance Tracker, provided as part of CES’ full-service model, takes energy budgeting a step further with real-time updates to expenditures and usage. Clients from all industries benefit from the CES
Variance Tracker.
The Value of CES’ Variance Tracker
The CES Variance Tracker enables centralized data management, reporting, and ease of use for experts and non-experts alike by highlighting the story behind the data and not just the data itself. CES’ Variance Tracker is a tool developed to help clients track their actual energy usage and expenditures against budgeted values. Billing issues are quickly identified and CES works with clients to rectify them.
The Variance Tracker comes with a core set of reports that clients can use to understand and manage their energy initiatives. The CES Variance Tracker shows budget variance, cost, use, and rate patterns, and degree days analysis. This includes inaccurate usage, usage spikes, unexpected charges for delivery, transmission, and/or supply, and any other oddities. CES also uses the Variance Tracker to follow load reduction activity during peak demand and keep track of energy credits.
To learn more about how CES’ Variance Tracker, download our informational PDF or contact your Energy Services Advisor, who will work with you to evaluate how the CES Variance Tracker fits in to your service package.
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Now officially underway after two years of preparation and planning, the project – once completed – will be the largest municipal solar array in the New Hampshire with more than 8,000 panels that will supply approximately 3.8 million kilowatt hours of clean energy to the power grid annually, equivalent to the electricity usage of about 500 homes.
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“The Department of Public Works is proud to be a part of another clean energy project for the City of Manchester,” said Tim Clougherty, Deputy Director, Department of Public Works. “We’d like to thank our energy consultant, Competitive Energy Services, the project developer, Kearsarge Energy, Mayor Craig and the Aldermen (O’Neill) for helping bring this project to reality.”
“A client since 2008, Competitive Energy Services is privileged to work and consult with the City of Manchester as the City seeks to expand its clean energy and sustainability initiatives. Today is a monumental day for the Queen City and we are pleased to be a part of this project with today’s official launch,” said Zack Hallock.
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Left to Right: Tim Clougherty (Manchester Department of Public Works), Kevin Sheppard (Manchester Department of Public Works), Alderman Dan O’Neil, Mayor Joyce Craig, Everett Tatelbaum (Kearsarge Energy), Zack Hallock (Competitive Energy Services), Tom Flynn (AEGIS), Luke Doloff (Kingsbury Co) and Chaz Newton (Manchester Department of Public Works) submitted photo
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Through Road Trip, Competitive Energy Services features various energy infrastructure projects – road trip style. We have always enjoyed visiting and learning about the physical energy infrastructure that powers our world. Our colleagues, families, and friends are often subject to detours on business trips and family vacations. |
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Meet the Energy Services Advisor (ESA) Team |
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Keith Sampson
Senior Vice President, Energy Services
Keith Sampson joined Competitive Energy Services in 2007 as a Business Development and Account Manager. With more than 17 years of experience in the power and energy business, he currently assists commercial, educational, and industrial customers in New England with their energy needs.
Over the course of his 14 years at CES, Keith has built and managed a team of energy services professionals who collectively advise and help deliver millions of dollars in savings and cost avoidance for clients, and who have grown CES’ business and expanded the value-added services the company provides to all of its clients.
Through Keith’s leadership, the CES team has worked with five of the six New England state universities – Vermont, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut on energy projects, strategies, and communications. Keith and his team of Energy Services Advisors also help manage every aspect of energy and sustainability initiatives for some of the largest and most prestigious private colleges and universities in the northeast.
In addition to his extensive knowledge of the higher education space, Keith has a strong aptitude and knack for helping industrial manufacturing companies manage costs and optimize operations by carefully modeling and implementing a dynamic energy strategy.
Prior to CES, Keith was the Northeast Regional Manager at Rochester Midland Corporation and was recognized for his innovation in helping clients reduce their overall energy costs, specifically implementing and monitoring programs to reduce energy costs in boiler and HVAC operations. Before that, he served as a Senior Account Manager-Strategic Accounts at GE Betz (formerly BetzDearborn), specializing in providing consulting expertise and cost reduction strategies to large commercial, institutional, and industrial customers. He was the two-time recipient of the BetzDearborn Chairman’s Award for Energy Reduction.
“In my 14 years at CES, the thing I find most rewarding is helping customers save money. Educating and communicating the risk and reward of each decision has helped CES customers make strategic decisions resulting in millions of dollars in savings and cost avoidance. As the manager, I view my role as one of a coach that puts people in a position to succeed – and when my team succeeds, our clients succeed.”
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Charlie Agnew
Managing Director of Energy Services
Charlie Agnew joined CES in June 2013 as Account Manager & Business Development. In 2020, Charlie was promoted to the role of Managing Director of Energy Services. Charlie works with a range of CES clients managing various energy commodity procurement strategies, energy budgeting and variance tracking, sustainability services, and demand response agreements. Prior to joining CES, he was Vice President/Technical Sales at Biomass Commodities Corporation, where he gained seven years of experience in the biomass energy sector. Over the past two years, Charlie has focused on supporting a group of CES’ Maine clients into the state’s net energy billing program. This work has led CES in this space and given clients an opportunity to retain significant financial and environmental benefits over the next twenty years. Charlie has a B.S. in Finance from the Rochester Institute of Technology and enjoys outdoor activity and work around his farm in Cumberland, Maine.
“I love meeting people with a passion for exploring opportunities and talking energy. It is nice to be able to help our clients reduce costs, expand use of renewables, and become smarter energy consumers.”
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Chris Brook
Director of Natural Gas & Energy Services
Chris Brook has more than 21 years of experience in the energy business, currently holding the title of Director of Natural Gas & Energy Services. At CES, Chris is responsible for natural gas scheduling, nominations, and balancing. He also provides administrative oversight for contract negotiations with pipelines, local distribution companies, and marketers. Before joining CES in 2009, Chris worked for Webber Energy, where his responsibilities included commercial account management, marketing, and market research. He has a B.A. from Ohio University in Business and an MBA from the University of Maine.
“After 10 years in the retail liquid fuels sector, I wanted to transition to an environment where I could assist clients with all of their energy requirements instead of only being able to offer oil and propane as an option. As the impact energy has on our environment continues to grow, it is satisfying to know that I am making a difference by assisting clients in actively managing their energy needs while also helping them reach their sustainability initiatives. I am grateful for the opportunity I have at CES to get to know our clients and guide them through the volatile energy markets as a team”.
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Larry Pignataro
Associate Manager & Senior Energy Services Advisor
Larry Pignataro joined CES as an Energy Services Advisor in June of 2017 and was promoted to Associate Manager & Senior Energy Services Advisor in 2021. He has experience in the energy sector, specifically related to heating fuels supply, pricing, and logistics. Larry’s responsibilities at CES include client account management, development of new business, and assisting with preparations for client deliverables related to analysis, reporting, and presentations. He holds a B.S. and MBA from Plymouth State University.
“After close to nine years in higher education, I transitioned to the oil and propane industry where I learned in the ins and outs of the energy commodity markets and the supply, logistics, and distribution of refined products. That experience was invaluable for my career at CES as I was able to take those fundamentals and apply them to the broader energy sector. I enjoy working with our diverse and loyal customer base and exploring new customer opportunities within our footprint.”
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Zack Hallock
Energy Services Advisor
Zack Hallock joined CES in January of 2019 as an Energy Services Advisor. Prior to CES, Zack worked with major utilities on large scale transmission and midstream operations to provide appropriate staffing services. Currently, Zack closely advises demand side management and procurement strategies, budgeting, variance tracking, and various forms of renewables integration into an energy portfolio. He has a B.A. in Economics and Environmental Studies from St. Lawrence University and is also a LEED Green Associate.
“The best part about working with our customers at CES is the material impact our combined efforts have on an energy portfolio. In addition to the big picture, I’m constantly reminded of our impact on daily lives and operations. Whether its mitigating stress or identifying unexpected opportunity, there’s always grounds to stay positive or round the corner on a high-pressure situation. From commodity procurement to advanced analytics, bringing a sense of knowledge and comfort to the table is what gets me out of bed each morning. What completes the picture are the relationships and naturally the trust that’s built through these initiatives. As young professionals, our reputation is built around trust and relationships. This trust is something I take to heart each day which drives the desire to continuously build not only my personal reputation, but that of CES above all else."
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Elliot Boyd
Energy Services Advisor
Elliot Boyd joined CES as an Energy Analyst in 2019 and progressed to an Energy Services Advisor in early 2020. Elliot’s responsibilities at CES include managing client accounts, developing new business, and assisting with preparation of client deliverables related to energy analysis, reporting, and presentations. Additionally, Elliot provides ongoing project management and analytical support in evaluating net energy billing opportunities across the northeast. He holds a B.S. in Geology from St. Lawrence University.
“Here at CES, I have had the opportunity to learn a great deal about a diverse array of clients with whom we partner. Each industry provides a unique set of challenges and opportunities for companies working to optimize energy costs and work towards a more sustainable future. My recent experiences range from working with universities to optimize building management systems while students are off campus to learning the nuances of manufacturing schedules with the goal of participating in beneficial demand response programs during peak grid events. I take great joy in learning about each of our clients and developing a wealth of shared knowledge between us. This relationship is key to informing our broader goal of assisting clients with solving their energy puzzle.”
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Maggie Paul
Energy Services Advisor
Maggie Paul joined Competitive Energy Services in 2021 as an Energy Services Advisor. She works with a mix of procurement and full-service clients and provides support on commodity pricing and analysis for fellow ESAs. Prior to joining CES, Maggie worked with the MA Clean Energy Center in Cataumet, MA and the Regional Environmental Council in Worcester, MA, developing energy strategies for local establishments and organizations. She holds both a B.A. in Geography and a Master of Business Administration from Clark University.
"The thing I like best about engaging with clients is learning about their individual energy needs. CES works with such a wide range of organizations and businesses, and each one has different focuses. Some concentrate on reducing expenditures on energy, others are working toward Energy Master Plans and investing in carbon reductions, and everything in between. Since starting at CES, I've learned so much about the energy industry, and I'm excited to apply my knowledge to help clients meet their goals. I've particularly enjoyed getting to know more about how energy is used by different industries and hearing from clients how their day-to-day operations intersect with our work at CES."
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Staff Picks: Larry's Pick...
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By Bill Eckstrom & Sarah Wirth
“The most effective leader behaves more like a coach.”
A must-have for all leaders who are responsible for coaching or managing a team to perform at a higher level. The Coaching Effect will help leaders at all levels understand the necessity of challenging people out of their comfort zone to create a high-growth organization. Leaders will learn how they can develop trust relationships, drive accountability, and leverage growth experiences to propel their team members to the highest levels
of success.
Authors Bill Eckstrom and Sarah Wirth have spent a decade researching the activities, behaviors, and performance of leaders. After studying more than 120,000 coaching interactions in the workplace, primarily of sales teams, they have been able to determine how coaching affects team outcomes and growth.
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