A Little Guide to Thinking Blue.
Help your customers rethink value of electricity to their business. Shift the conversation from cost to competitive advantage.
ELECTRICITY
CAN DRIVE TOP-LINE
GROWTH
Think Blue
Conventional thinking says electricity is just a cost that shrinks the bottom line. But you can give your clients more support by explaining how their choice of electricity supply could improve their ability to win more business. Carbon Clear found that 8 out of 10 of the FTSE 100 companies consider suppliers’ carbon emissions as part of their procurement process. Which shows your clients’ choice of electricity supply could help them grow their business, as well as control their costs. That’s why we’re offering your clients the opportunity to add electricity backed by low-carbon generation to their fixed price contract. Source: Carbon Reporting Performance of the FTSE 100, Carbon Clear, 2014
ELECTRICITY IS A
NEW BUSINESS
STRATEGY
Think Blue
Conventional thinking says the type of electricity a business chooses doesn’t affect their chances of winning business. But, as more and more companies put pressure on their suppliers to demonstrate their sustainability credentials, your clients’ carbon emissions will come under greater scrutiny. In a survey of over 132 businesses, more than half said their customers asked for sustainability credentials as part of a tender. Which shows your clients’ choice of electricity supply could help them grow their business, as well as control their costs. That’s why we’re offering your clients the opportunity to add electricity backed by low-carbon generation to their fixed price contract. Source: A survey of people most responsible for managing energy contracts in 132 large businesses conducted by McCallum Layton, on behalf of EDF Energy from 5/12/2013 to 29/01/2014.
LOW-CARBON
ELECTRICITY COSTS
THE
STANDARD
SAME AS
ELECTRICITY
Think Blue
Conventional thinking says sustainability initiatives need high levels of investment. But switching to low carbon shouldn’t have to come with a premium price tag. So, with Blue for Business, we’ve kept our fixed price contracts backed by low-carbon generation at the same price as our standard electricity. Which means your clients can support their push for growth with better sustainability credentials without paying more for their electricity.
CARBON
EMISSIONS SIMPLE TO
REPORT
Think Blue
ARE
Conventional thinking says it’s not always easy to know if your electricity supply can be reported as low carbon. For example, many companies believe LECs improve their carbon credentials, but in reality they don’t count towards greenhouse gas emissions reporting. With Blue for Business, Generator Declarations from our nuclear power stations work like REGOs to prove the electricity comes from a recognised zero carbon generation source. Which means your clients can report zero carbon emissions for their electricity use under the GHG Protocol, the widely used international greenhouse gas accounting standard.
Source: GHG Protocol, Scope 2 Guidance, World Resources Institute and World Business Council for Sustainable Development, Sept 2014.
FIXED REALLY
DOES
MEAN
FIXED
Think Blue
Conventional thinking says electricity suppliers will always find a way of clawing back unexpected increases in costs. With Fixed + Peace of Mind, we fix all third-party costs as well as the wholesale energy costs within our unit prices, with no volume tolerance restrictions. As we promise in our ‘it’s fixed’ commitment, we stand by the assumptions we make at the start of the contract. If we get them wrong, we’ll swallow the cost – including costs associated with EMR. Which means with our fixed prices, your clients can confidently budget for their electricity costs, which helps their bottom line, and focus more on top-line growth.
Our fuel mix Every year we publish details of the fuel sources used to generate our customers’ electricity. The information in the table below covers the period from April 2013 to March 2014. Coal
Gas
Nuclear
EDF Energy’s fuel mix
Renewable
Other
26.8%
3.5%
56.1%
13.5%
0.1%
Contribution to our carbon emissions
94.2%
5.4%
0.0%
0.0%
0.4%
UK average fuel mix*
34.0%
25.6%
21.6%
16.7%
2.1%
CO2g/kWh
Radioactive waste g/kWh
259
0.0045
428
0.0017
*The figures for UK average fuel mix are provided by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC).
Our product fuel labels Coal
Gas
Nuclear
Renewable
Other
CO2g/kWh
Radioactive waste g/kWh
Blue
0.0%
0.0%
100.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0
0.0080
Renewable
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
100.0%
0.0%
0
0.0000
All other
29.3%
3.8%
55.1%
11.6%
0.2%
283.6
0.0044
What we mean by electricity backed by low-carbon generation. Low-carbon electricity purchased for Blue is supplied into the National Grid. Blue for Business customers receive electricity via the National Grid, not directly from low-carbon generators.
Our “it’s fixed” commitment When we say an element of your price is fixed, we’re making a commitment to you that we will not use our Terms and Conditions to recover additional costs arising from our forecasting errors. But we can’t plan for absolutely everything. In the case of force majeure events, or in exceptional circumstances such as the government introducing or significantly changing policies and regulations relating to your energy use, we may have to pass on the costs. But we’ll always try to avoid taking that action. Please refer to clauses 4.28, 5.1, 5.2 and 5.3 for guidance on the Fixed + Peace of Mind contract Terms and Conditions. EDF Energy Customers plc with registered number 2228297. EDF Energy 1 Limited with registered number 3986835. Registered offices at 40 Grosvenor Place, Victoria, London, SW1X 7EN incorporated in England and Wales. EDF Energy 1 Limited acts as agent of EDF Energy Customers plc for the purposes of collecting all payments in connection with its supply contract. The responsibility for performance of supply obligations rests with EDF Energy Customers plc.
Fixed price electricity contracts, from an award winning supplier*, backed by low-carbon generation, at the same price as standard electricity. Help your customers back their sustainability story with zero carbon emissions from their electricity use. Recommend Blue for Business from EDF Energy.
For questions and quotes, please call your account manager on 0800 068 0342. *Winner of Supplier of the Year, Energy Awards 2014. Calls to 0800 numbers are free from BT landlines, other network operators may charge for these calls. Lines are open Monday - Friday, 8am - 8pm.