PPS has saved over £584,000 on our business energy in 24 months when working with The Consultus International Group, and there are still ways we can increase this saving.
Our background
PPS Group is a market leader in Returnable Transit Packaging (RTP) solutions and services such as rental, pooling, management, washing, repairs, and sales in the United Kingdom.
PPS’ strategy is based on sustainability, and encouraging the circular economy by minimising packaging waste is an important component of and benefit of Returnable Transit Packaging.
For many years, PPS has relied on the Consultus International Group to source our business energy (electricity and gas), since we want flexibility while maintaining price certainty.
About Consultus International Group
Consultus International Group is widely regarded as the UK’s most trusted Energy Consultancy and one of the country’s most prominent Net Zero delivery partners. They assist businesses and their supply chains to plan, prioritise, and achieve their carbon neutral goals, allowing them to use less energy, save money, manage risk better, and strengthen their energy security.
To maintain flexibility and price certainty for PPS, the Consultus group recommended the ‘Budget Guard,’ a fixed option that sets a maximum commodity rate, using a CAR (Capital At Risk) buy-only strategy, which doesn’t allow selling energy back to the market.
PPS then reached a point where significant savings could be made by transferring to another product and sought the advice of Consultus’ risk management team.
The Solution
Consultus recommended switching to Market Tracker, its flexible consortium solution, which enabled PPS to acquire more options for lowering their original energy cost prediction.
Market Tracker employs an AMP (Actively Managed Purchasing) method, directed by Consultus’ risk management experts, to capitalise on current trends while trading energy at the best available rates.
Under the Market Tracker method, which PPS can benefit from, secured energy is available to purchase, sell, and be bought back again, hedging positions as prices rise and fall in an ever-changing market.
This is to cover client’s risk should interest rates rise and shield them from a significant spike in pricing, while also offering value by allowing them to re-enter the market for trading.
The Outcome
Market Tracker has provided savings of over £450,000 for power, over the 24 months that we have been on the product, against an original spend of £2,100,000, almost a 25 per cent reduction compared to budget.
Gas costs have decreased by almost 50 per cent, with savings of more than £230,000 for this period, on an original spend of £478,000. There could be further benefits, too, if the market continues to lose value.
Consultus has traded PPS’ positions so well, for the period of April through to September 2023, that are being charged at a negative unit rate for gas.
If the market continues to trade at current rates, PPS will receive a credit. Last year, this period cost them £262,172, but so far (for October 2022-September 2023) it has gone down to £68,502.
In just 14 days, Consultus reduced the total energy cost (for the period from June 2023 to September 2024) by over £90,000, a figure that is now more than six times that amount.
Jeremy Tutt, Our Finance Director, said: “Consultus’ trading strategy and expert advice has allowed us to take advantage of the falling market, resulting in huge savings.
“We’re confident that the company’s ability to quickly react to market conditions will deliver additional significant savings in the future.”
For more information about how PPS can help your business save using RTP, you can visit our website here.
