The electricity price is primarily made up of three components.

1. Cost of generation: This includes the cost of generating or procuring the electricity and the energy supplier’s margin.
2. Grid fees: These are regulated fees that are charged for the use of the electricity grids. The amount varies depending on the region and grid operator.
3. Taxes, levies and surcharges: These include various government-imposed items such as electricity tax, the concession levy and the surcharge for the promotion of renewable energies.

Electricity prices fluctuate because they are determined by supply and demand on the energy market. Renewable energies such as wind and solar power do not generate energy consistently, meaning that weather-related fluctuations influence supply. At the same time, factors such as industrial production, household consumption and electromobility lead to peaks in demand, which can cause prices to rise. Geopolitical events, regulatory measures and CO₂ prices also have an impact on electricity costs.

Energy monitoring is the basis for gaining transparency of energy flows, on the basis of which various cost-saving measures can be initiated. This basis enables, among other things:

• The identification of unnecessary consumption, various cost drivers, inefficient systems.
• The optimization of processes.
• Anticipate critical problems and make informed decisions quickly in crisis situations.
• Set up targeted notifications when thresholds are reached.
• Perform more accurate calculations (unit cost, machine efficiency, etc.).

Depending on the annual energy consumption, energy monitoring is mandatory in Germany under the Energy Efficiency Act – however, for most non-energy-intensive companies, there is no obligation. In general, from a company’s point of view, whether required by law or out of self-interest, it is important to have a minimum number of measuring devices in order to take effective measures for energy efficiency and savings, as not to incurr unneccessary costs.

Every company with a high energy demand should monitor and analyze their demand, as data is the basis for energy cost savings and greater planning security.

Retrofitting each individual machine can be very costly and is therefore not recommended. Apart from that, there are no direct cost savings, but initially only insights into energy consumption, which have the potential for cost-saving actions. The installation of metering devices should therefore take place from the top down: Every company is bound to have a main meter. From there, it makes sense to collect data per Significant Energy Unit (SEU) in order to identify and avoid major inefficiencies. During this planning, you will quickly realize that there is no universal guide to the sensible installation of metering devices, because every company has different significant consumers that are close to each other in terms of space or system technology, be it a production hall/room/department/system.

When planning, it is important to define the SEUs advantageously. In this context, advantageous means that you can collect as much meaningful data as possible with a well-placed meter. However, this is the next difficulty – which data brings added value to the company?

Industrial utilities refer to technologies whose application is not limited to a specific industry or production step, but is used across industries. These offer relevant flexibility potential, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises. The importance of the optimization of industrial utilities can vary depending on the sector.

Flexible processes are processes in which a certain buffer capacity is available. These are, for example, compressed air tanks for compressors, temperature ranges for air conditioning, ventilation and refrigeration systems.
There are industry-specific flexible processes and flexible processes within industrial utilities.

Well-chosen energy performance indicators help to provide insight into the efficiency and performance of production processes and through that to continuously improve them. With the help of well-defined EnPIs, the number and locations of measuring devices can be determined as cost-effectively as possible. EnPIs should be measured, monitored, analyzed and documented on regular intervals in order to generate high-quality energy data.

In addition to industrial utilities that are used across industries, there are also specific potentials for energy-flexibility in many industries. Since these systems often play a central role in production processes, flexibility does not necessarily mean switching off machines, but rather intelligently shifting the timelines of processes. This allows energy savings to be achieved without affecting production processes.

Costs arise, for example, for measuring devices, sensors, data loggers and transmission technology as well as for software licenses. Commissioning and connection services and installation by external partners must also be budgeted for. In addition, there are ongoing costs for operating and maintaining software and servers as well as support services. Training courses and workshops contribute to successful projects and the desired success, but simple software alone can already increase the savings potential.

Despite the many cost factors, an expert from econ solutions GmbH (a subsidiary of MVV) explains the rule of thumb: three percent of annual energy costs should be used as the first investment. This can achieve an average energy saving of five to ten percent. BAFA funding programs or regional programs can also support companies with up to 40 percent of the total costs.

In many cases, a great increase in transparency is possible with little effort and low investment costs. It is important to be able to use intuitive software that clearly depicts the consumption situation in companies.

In October 2024, the vbw published the study “Energy flexibility options in industry – Focus Bavaria” and confirmed the enormous potential of cross-sectional technologies and named specific technologies and their flexible systems:

Technology | Flexible systems

Ventilation | Fan motors

Air conditioning and process cooling | Electric compressors, fan motors/circulation pumps, storage

Water supply | Water and circulation pump motors, reservoirs

Room heating/hot water | Heat pumps, heating rods, storage

Combined heat and power | Combined heat and power plants / CHP plants

Emergency power systems | Emergency generators

Battery storage | Batteries

In October 2024, the vbw published the study “Energy flexibility options in industry – Focus Bavaria” and confirms the enormous potential that lies within the industry-specific machines, and names specific industries and their flexible systems:

Industry | Flexible systems

Primary & secondary steel | Electric arc furnace, rolling mills, industrial crucible furnace

Non-ferrous metal | Electrolysis, aluminum electrolysis cells, crucible furnace

Cement | Raw and cement mills

Glass (hollow & flat glass) | Additional electrical heating of the tank furnace

Basic chemicals | Chloroelectrolysis cells

Rubber and plastic goods | Injection molding machines

Paper | Wood grinder, paper machine