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Considering Risk in Energy Procurement

The evolving dynamics of the energy sector present both new opportunities and unprecedented risk for our customers. No two days are alike in the energy market, so it is imperative to help customers navigate their risk and make the most from the energy value chain. A one-size-fits-all approach is no longer a viable way to consider sourcing your energy. Customers need more sophisticated offerings; tailored, flexible solutions based on their unique risk tolerance and budget. 

Understanding risk tolerance
Understanding risk tolerance or risk appetite in energy is similar to how risk is considered in other financial investment decisions. For example: do you want to put 90% of your investment into a more volatile stock market? Or are you more comfortable with a diversified approach and consider bonds and other more secure financial vehicles? Energy sourcing should be considered with this same lens by considering the volatility of energy prices and weighing what is appropriate for their business drivers. For example, customers that are typically more risk averse may find that a fixed price solution is best to maintain a degree of budget certainty. On the other hand, customers that are more comfortable riding the ebbs and flows of the energy market may find that an index price solution (with price locks) might better match their higher risk tolerance.

Custom, tailored solutions
Proactively identifying opportunities across the energy value chain and delivering tailored solutions is crucial to customers. This involves understanding key criteria such as budget considerations, target goals, current strategies and aspirations for improvement. Considering the needs of the customer results in meaningful energy solutions that address specific needs. A prime example of a customized solution is a multi-year retail energy supply agreement that addresses price, risk and specific objectives. Such agreements can provide flexibility and stability by locking in prices for a portion of usage while allowing the remaining usage to float at the current market index price. In this agreement, a pilot program implements a process for all transmission and ancillary services billed directly from ENGIE instead of the local utility, with charges based on actual demand. As such, the venues can take advantage of savings that stem from their distinctive peak load characteristics versus higher pooled costs.

Importance of sustainability
Renewable energy is growing at an unprecedented rate, and organizations have set aggressive goals for sustainability including ambitious target dates for net zero carbon emissions. By integrating renewable energy into tailored solutions, we empower customers to meet or exceed their sustainability energy goals. Embracing sustainability in energy procurement is not just beneficial for our environment; it is a strategic move to ensure resilience. Matching energy consumption with renewable energy credits (RECs) can help companies achieve their set targets while meeting their current energy demands. This approach can bring the benefits of renewable energy to businesses of all sizes, regardless of market location and structure. ICA Miami is matching 100% of its consumption with RECs (renewable energy credits) which is a greenhouse gas emissions reduction equivalent of 1,352 metric tons of CO2.

Providing support
It is essential to offer customers responsiveness, timely pricing and helpful tools to manage their energy usage and spending. Leveraging energy expertise can bring valuable insight to the table. For example, the utilization of wholesale markets and structuring risk management products based on customer objectives can ensure further financial security in energy procurement.

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ENGIE among the top ranking world companies!

ENGIE in the top 50! The Group lies in 46th place in the World’s Best Companies 2024 ranking published by Time magazine and Statista. What’s more, in France the Group is in the top 5.

Published by the American weekly magazine Time in partnership with Statista, a leading international provider of market and consumer data and rankings, the World’s Best Companies 2024 ranking evaluates the world’s 1,000 top performing companies according to three key criteria: employee satisfaction, revenue growth and sustainability performance (ESG criteria).

ENGIE stands out this year, ranking 46th worldwide, compared with 57th place last year. This improvement is largely due to the growth rate of the company, reflecting its ability to innovate and to adapt in a constantly changing sector.

In France, ENGIE has climbed to 5th place, in particular thanks to its Net Promoter Score (NPS), an indicator that measures overall positive customer and employee perception of the company.

This good score illustrates the Group’s commitment to providing a caring and inclusive working environment as well as its social model which reconciles economic performance with a positive impact on people and the planet.

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Entergy Texas and ENGIE partner to explore sustainable power solutions

BEAUMONT and HOUSTON, Texas – Entergy Texas and ENGIE North America (ENGIE) recently executed a memorandum of understanding to work collaboratively toward the exploration of mutually beneficial sustainability solutions.

ENGIE is currently developing a 350 MW industrial-scale green hydrogen plant in Entergy Texas’ service area with an estimated commercial operation date by 2026. This first phase of the proposed project requires an investment of over $500 million and will generate up to 500 jobs during construction and as many as 40 full time positions. Subsequent phases of the proposed hydrogen project could grow this Renewable Hydrogen project to 1 GW by 2030.

“We are proud to partner with industry leaders like ENGIE to support the needs of our customers and communities,” said Eliecer Viamontes, president and CEO of Entergy Texas. “Southeast Texas has the infrastructure and workforce to play an essential role in the growing low-to-zero carbon hydrogen industry, and our collaboration with ENGIE will lead the way for significant advancements.”

Entergy Texas operates in the Midcontinent Independent System Operator energy market and has reliably served customers in Southeast Texas for decades. The company plans to invest over $2.5 billion by the end of 2024 to build a more resilient and sustainable energy future for the region.

“High-energy, low-emission, locally produced hydrogen could be the next game-changing energy resource for Texas,” said Eric De Caluwe, Managing Director of Flexible Generation & Hydrogen at ENGIE North America. “With Houston being home to our North American headquarters for the last 40 years and Texas continuing to be a key market of investment and advancement of new projects and technologies, we look forward to working with Entergy Texas to serve the changing needs of industrial and heavy transport customers here as they seek cleaner forms of energy to fuel their operations and processes.”



About Entergy Texas
Entergy Texas, Inc. provides electricity to approximately 499,000 customers in 27 counties. Entergy Texas is a subsidiary of Entergy Corporation, a Fortune 500 electric company. Entergy powers life for 3 million customers through our operating companies in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. We’re investing in the reliability and resilience of the energy system while helping our region transition to cleaner, more efficient energy solutions. With roots in our communities for more than 100 years, Entergy is a nationally recognized leader in sustainability and corporate citizenship. Since 2018, we have delivered more than $100 million in economic benefits each year to local communities through philanthropy, volunteerism and advocacy. Entergy is headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana, and has approximately 12,000 employees. For the latest news from Entergy, visit the Newsroom.


About the ENGIE Group
The ENGIE Group (made up of ENGIE S.A. and its subsidiaries and affiliates) is a global leader in low-carbon energy and services. With its 96,000 employees, its customers, partners and stakeholders, the Group is committed to accelerate the transition toward a carbon-neutral world, through reduced energy consumption and more environmentally-friendly solutions. Inspired by its purpose (“raison d’être”), ENGIE reconciles economic performance with a positive impact on people and the planet, building on its key businesses (gas, renewable energy, services) to offer competitive solutions to its customers. ENGIE S.A. (ENGI), is listed on the Paris and Brussels Stock Exchanges.

In North America, ENGIE companies have delivered integrated, innovative energy solutions to public and private organizations for nearly half a century. We employ approximately 3,000 people focused on enabling our customers to become more sustainable and achieve their decarbonization targets through expert project delivery and competitive solutions. For more information on ENGIE in North America, please visit our LinkedIn page or Twitter feed, https://www.engie-na.com/ and https://www.engie.com.

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Microsoft and ENGIE Announce Renewable Initiatives

September 24, 2019 – Chicago, IL – Microsoft and ENGIE today announced both a long-term solar and wind energy power purchase agreement (PPA) that provides 24/7 supply in the United States and implementation of Darwin, energy software developed by ENGIE using the intelligent cloud services of Microsoft Azure to optimize performance of ENGIE’s wind, solar, and hybrid (wind + solar) renewable assets worldwide.

 

The renewable deal will see Microsoft purchase a total of 230 MW from two ENGIE projects in Texas, bringing Microsoft’s renewable energy portfolio to more than 1,900 MW. Microsoft will purchase the majority of the output from the new 200 MW Las Lomas wind project, which will be located in Starr & Zapata Counties in south Texas. Microsoft will also purchase 85 MW from the 200 MW Anson Solar Center project, which will be built in Jones County in central Texas. Both projects will be operated by ENGIE and are expected to come on-line in January 2021.

“ENGIE’s ambition is to work with our customers and communities to lead the transition to a zero-carbon world,” said Gwenaëlle Avice-Huet, President and CEO, ENGIE North America and Executive Vice President in charge of ENGIE’s Global Renewable Business Line. “We are proud to support Microsoft in its plan to increasingly meet its energy needs with renewable power, and to do so in a highly customized way to meet 24/7 demand over many years.”

The relationship between ENGIE and Microsoft will not only add more clean energy to the grid in the United States, it also creates an example for how customers can procure it. This PPA includes an innovative volume firming agreement (VFA) that will convert the intermittent renewable energy supply into a fixed 24/7 power solution aligned with Microsoft’s energy needs.

In addition, ENGIE and Microsoft are advancing the digital transformation of the renewable energy sector. ENGIE’s Darwin software, currently deployed on more than 15,000 MW of assets globally, enables real-time plant monitoring and control, reporting, forecasting, performance monitoring, and predictive maintenance, among many other benefits. Darwin relies on the latest Microsoft Azure cloud, AI and IoT services. Darwin has already enabled ENGIE to increase plant availability and to enhance production performance of up to a few percent on some of its assets.

With renewable energy expected to be the largest single source of electricity growth in the next five years, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), these kinds of data-driven solutions will become increasingly important. ENGIE alone has a program to build approximately 9,000 MW of new renewable energy projects from 2019-2021 globally, with 2,500 MW of new renewable capacity planned for North America. The company has an additional 10,000 MW of wind and solar projects in its broader development pipeline in the U.S. and Canada.

“Procuring more renewable energy helps to transform our operations, but when we pair that with Microsoft’s leading cloud and AI tools, we can transform the world,” said Brian Janous, General Manager of Energy and Sustainability at Microsoft. “This agreement with ENGIE is an exciting step towards a low-carbon future, driven by capital investments and enabled by data.”

About ENGIE North America
ENGIE North America Inc. offers a range of capabilities in the United States and Canada to help customers decarbonize, decentralize, and digitalize their operations. These include comprehensive services to help customers run their facilities more efficiently and optimize energy and other resource use and expense; clean power generation; energy storage; and retail energy supply that includes renewable, demand response, and on-bill financing options. Nearly 100% of the company’s power generation portfolio is low carbon or renewable. Globally, ENGIE is the largest independent power producer and a leading energy efficiency services provider in the world, employing 160,000 people. For more information on ENGIE North America, please visit our , LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook pages or www.engie-na.com.

About Microsoft
Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) enables digital transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.

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