We are working with leading energy and sustainability consultants Inenco to see how we can best help residents cope with spiralling energy costs.
The cost of energy to heat and light the communal areas of our estates has always been a significant part of the service charges for residents. However, the spiralling cost of energy over the last year has made it even more important to work with an expert partner who can help minimise the impact on service charges and protect residents from unexpected and excessive bills.
For the past seven years, we have benefitted from a great partnership with leading energy management and sustainability consultants Inenco, who are the UK’s most established experts in this field with a heritage stretching back to 1968.
How does Inenco support Notting Hill Genesis?
Most people are used to comparing quotes from a range of suppliers and agreeing a fixed-price deal for a few years. Inenco monitors the wholesale energy market on our behalf, ensuring we get the best prices for those estates and developments where we are the energy provider.
The price of energy is always changing. Buying when the price is low and locking in that price can bring big benefits – equally getting the decision wrong and buying when the price is high can raise costs and raise service charges.
In the spring of 2022, we locked in a price for the year that shielded the organisation from the very worst of the year’s increasing prices.
With Inenco’s support we avoided costs of nearly £8m – saving £3.6m for electricity and £4.4m for gas. These savings went a long way in shielding residents from the worst of the energy crisis and maintaining value for money.
Further cost recovery
In addition to the benefit Notting Hill Genesis and our customers are gaining from long-term energy trading, we also work with Inenco to check the accuracy of our bills from energy suppliers.
Sometimes mistakes happen and utility bills arrive that are inaccurate. Inenco validate invoices for mathematical accuracy and assess whether taxes and levies have been appropriately applied. This work has saved a further £406,000 in cost.
We always aim to support residents in reducing their outgoings and have a range of programmes with external partners to help that. Please check out our support services page for more information.