Industry statistics suggest that utility invoices contain errors of between 3% and 5% by value. With ever more complex contracts being used, this figure looks set to continue.
Validating invoices can be a time-consuming and frustrating exercise. Optima Services can help by using the optima™ Utility Billing System (UBS), which is a proven, highly effective, fully auditable energy accounting system used specifically for the purpose of validating and managing the payment of invoices, received in either electronic or paper form.
UBS performs over 60 separate checks to identify any errors on supplier invoices. That means that we can quickly identify any overcharges that may have incurred. All elements of the invoices are validated, including the supplier’s contract rates, invoiced consumption, meter configuration, third party pass through charges etc.
“Optima secured for us considerable financial savings, over £38,500 to date, but as importantly the customer support has been first class”.
With energy being the most volatile of all the commodity markets, knowing when and how to purchase energy, what length of contract to commit to and which suppliers to tender to has become increasingly complicated.
We are experienced in negotiating both fixed and flexible contracts for single and multi-site companies, while our excellent relationships with all key suppliers will help you achieve the best possible service and price. Our team will have your data prepared and placed with suppliers well in advance of any deadlines for committing to a new contract.
Timing is key. Optima Services works closely with you on when to commit to a contract, tracking wholesale markets and prices on a daily basis. We provide you with fortnightly market intelligence reports and are proactive in our advice on when to lock out your next contract.
“Our energy costs had almost doubled, then we took Optima Services onboard and are now making significant savings”.
Our client’s requirements for reporting on energy and costs, whether internally or externally is ever increasing. Optima Services offer an efficient reporting strategy using a suite of reports to review consumption and cost information for gas, electricity and water supplies, whether Half Hourly (HH) or Non Half Hourly (NHH) metered.
Optima Services can provide advanced monthly reports on HH or NHH metered data to help give you a real insight into the energy used by your organisation and where potential savings opportunities could be made. These can be automatically generated and emailed directly to a central or individual site contacts to keep the management of your usage at which ever hierarchy level you prefer.
League table reports can be generated using performance indices, an ideal tool for multi-site customers who want to compare and contrast energy usage across a portfolio of similar sites.
With electricity and gas now a significant overhead and third party charges continuing to increase year-on-year, setting and managing energy budgets accurately is a key factor in fixing future school fees.
Optima Services works closely with a number of independent schools through our purchasing consortium, delivering savings of over £3.8m across group contracts over the last 5 years against reference energy prices.
Optima Services offers a first rate customer experience, excellent relationships with energy suppliers and state-of-the-art software systems, providing our customers with an unrivalled level of expertise and provision.
“We have been particularly impressed with Optima’s diligent validation of our HH invoices. In particular they identified an issue with our excess capacity charges (kVA); once fully investigated data anomalies were discovered and Optima liaised with our supplier resulting in a £3,600 credit from the 2 month period”.
Optima Services offers clients a personal single point of contact. Each of our clients has access to a dedicated Account Manager to assist them with all elements of their energy management requirements. This brings together all aspects of the services offered by the team, such as the negotiation of procurement contracts, query resolution, energy reporting, invoice validation and managing new connection or metering projects, to provide the best bespoke end-to-end solution.
Your dedicated Account Manager will deal with all supplier and third party communication on your behalf, using their established relationships and industry knowledge and experience. They will negotiate Service Level Agreements (SLAs) with utility suppliers on your behalf, and will also in turn offer clients SLAs on the services provided by Optima Services, to ensure peace of mind.
At Optima Services, our Account Management team has a detailed knowledge of the energy industry and is committed to delivering exceptional customer service to their portfolio of clients. This, along with the a keen focus on efficiency, cost saving, accuracy of data and regular face-to-face meetings, goes a long way in helping us to achieve a client retention rate in excess of 98% year-on-year.
Whether you are having a new site addition, considering sub-metering or just upgrading your present meter, Optima Services will liaise with your suppliers, distributor and meter operator to co-ordinate the project and ensure that everything runs smoothly.
Energy Management Systems work best when given accurate data; by having AMR (Automatic Meter Reading) meters installed you can eliminate estimated readings, receive correct invoices without the worry of endless corrected invoices later on down the line once a meter reader has visited as well as providing you quality data to provide a better understanding of how and where your energy is used.
When planning a new connection, it is often the supply contract that is the last thing to be considered on a new project, but arguably is the most important aspect of it as without power your project is left in the dark. At Optima Services, we work with carefully chosen partners to deliver turnkey solutions to all our clients which will provide competitive pricing alongside excellent data provision that integrates seamlessly with our optima™ software, for all your energy management needs.
TPI Code of Practice
Optima Energy Services are proud to be an approved participant of the TPI Code of Practice. The TPI Code of Practice is a set of standards that sets the benchmark for responsible, high quality Third Party Intermediaries / Energy Brokers acting as consultants between micro-business customers and suppliers.
Complaints Process
At Optima Energy Services we are committed to providing you with the best service possible. However, we recognise that sometimes things might go wrong. This process explains how we will handle and resolve your complaint. If you require any more information regarding this procedure, you can contact our Customer Services team on telephone number 0121 222 5617.
Energy Software
Optima Energy Systems Ltd
Four Columns
Broughton Hall Business Park
Skipton
North Yorkshire BD23 3AE
United Kingdom
T: +44 (0) 1756 702488
E: info@optimaenergy.net
Bureau Services
Optima Energy Services Ltd
Innovation Centre
1 Devon Way
Longbridge Technology Park
Birmingham B31 2TS
United Kingdom
T: +44 (0)121 222 5617
E: services@optimaenergy.net
About us
Established in 1988 originally as a partnership and incorporated in 1991, Optima develop and support advanced software for managing and analysing energy data for some of the largest energy users and consultants in the UK.
