Energy Solutions - Energy Security

In a previous blog, we discussed why companies invest in sustainability and “energy management” programs. In addition to reducing costs, I mentioned brand engagement and reducing business risks, or “risk management”. Good risk management identifies and offsets events or practices that can reduce the profits of a business. If your business involves anything more than running a lemonade stand – access to an energy source that can provide ample, reliable and affordable energy is of critical importance to running your business.  This is called “energy security” and is a frequent point of discussion inside of global companies with operations in developing countries. There are few risks to business with as large a potential impact as energy security. However, these risks can be reduced or even eliminated with strategic planning, vision and firm intention.

The phrase “energy security” is becoming more prevalent these days, popping up in news stories about a nation with poor infrastructure or minimal natural resources.

It is a big deal in geopolitics and in business. The national borders of the Middle East today were established after World War I in part to address the energy and resource needs of the West by allocating spheres of influence to various nations. The expansion of Imperial Japan in the 1920’s and 30’s was driven by the many factors, one of which was access to energy sources. Today, China is investing in oil and gas fields globally and spending a significant amount of capital to ensure future access to energy. 

Without access to energy that is reliable and affordable – both the country and the business will die.

The USA has been very fortunate in recent memory with the last significant disruption to energy resources stemming from the OPEC oil embargo of the 1970’s. The shock to our economy and the fear it created can still be seen and felt today through the Energy Department of the President’s Cabinet, the CAFÉ fuel standards introduced to mandate vehicle efficiency, and the White House installing solar panels on the roof during the Carter Administration, when solar cost nearly $50 per watt. But most of the time when we think of energy security, it’s “over there” in places like Brazil, a country that gets over 80% of its electricity from hydroelectric dams. It is a country that is reeling from political scandals, a sluggish economy, and a Once-In-A-Century drought that has crippled production and increased prices over 200% for many customers.

Overnight.

And it’s getting worse.

On top of between 9 and 20 layers of taxation on energy from federal, state and local Brazilian authorities; grid and transmission fees have increased 25% this year.

The lack of water has forced utilities to generate electricity with natural gas, which is 5 times more expensive in Brazil than in the USA. The high costs, combined with subsidies and price controls imposed by the government less than 3 years ago were bankrupting the utilities. So on March 5th, Brazilian consumers were hit with another 23% increase. The energy problems being dealt with will reduce Brazil’s GDP by a minimum of ½% in 2015. Companies that were used to $10,000 electric bills are now dealing with $25,000 bills (or more) for the foreseeable future.

Energy security should be a priority for any company that relies on energy to deliver their product to the market – whether it is a manufacturer or a service provider. While it is especially important for companies operating in developing countries and economies, it isn’t just for foreign operations as today NASA put out a forecast showing that California’s drought has reduced reserves and reservoirs to approximately 12 months of usage.

If energy security is of interest to your organization – Telamon Energy Solutions is ready to help.

- Mark Brown

Sales Manager

Energy Solutions

Medical Solutions - CPPH Conference

Telamon Medical Solutions is proud to present the Community Partnerships in Population Health Conference, “The Impact of ACA, Medicaid & Indiana HIP 2.0 on Non-Profit Health Service Providers”, on Wednesday March 11^th. 

The Community Partnerships for Population Health Conference will provide key insights on three pieces of legislation – Affordable Care Act, Medicaid Expansion and Indiana HIP 2.0 – and its impacts to non profit organizations and the Medicaid eligible population. Key learning objectives will include: 

• Impact of Affordable Care Act on Non Profit access to Grant Initiatives to support organizational sustainability, population health initiatives, and program extension 
• Impact of Medicaid extension to the Medicaid-eligible population and the new dollars to support community health center sand healthcare service providers in treating and providing health access to the population
• Impact of Indiana HIP 2.0 in Medicaid expansion in the State of Indiana and key knowledge points for enrollment leading to better access to healthcare and services. 

This is the first conference in an educational series targeted to non profit executive directors, non profit program managers, non profit grant writers, policy researchers, community health centers, population health nurses, and population health service organizations. 

Telamon is excited to partner with leading experts in the field to provide a learning opportunity to present the latest in regulatory impact and a discussion-based format for collaboration and knowledge sharing. We look forward to learning from our presenters – Mr. Jing Xu, Master’s candidate at Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs with front line experience with Enroll America and National Community Health Centers in Washington DC and Mr. J Hopkins, Vice President of Business Development for ClaimAid Consulting, a leading provider of comprehensive eligibility and enrollment services and claims resolution for hospitals and health care providers, with significant perspectives from his many years at Eskenazi Health, Indiana Health Care Association, and State of Indiana, Family & Social Services Administration. Significant experiences and perspectives!

Check back during our next featured blog for a summary of teachings and takeaways.

Registration for the event is available at http://bit.ly/1L3y8j4.

Telecom Solutions - The "Greening" of Telamon

The revolution started slowly and quietly. It’s difficult to nail down the exact cause or time but several things contributed.  All of a sudden, the energy required for equipment and the energy expended from equipment became a big issue.  Perhaps it was in the increase in electric utility rates or the sudden – and expensive - need to beef up the building cooling systems.  Perhaps both coming at nearly the same time.

Back in the day - a phrase I love as it conjures up images of horse drawn carriages and lack of indoor plumbing – telephone equipment offices, large and small, sometimes had hot and cold areas.  There were spaces designed that would keep equipment at appropriate temperatures as some were far more sensitive than others. Digital switching electronics and battery plants come to mind immediately.  It didn’t take long to notice that there were some equipment types and manufacturers that generated a lot of heat.  Heat is a byproduct of inefficient use of power consumption and too much contributes to expense in ways that telecom providers had not previously considered.  Several immediate steps were taken.   

First, technology that was no longer in use was turned down and, where practical, removed.  It seems intuitive but there were oftentimes aisles upon aisles of equipment that had been bypassed but electricity was still flowing to.  This was a huge waste. Second, network planners and facilities managers started to work together to assess the impact of new technologies on the existing infrastructure.  A new technology could potentially require a full, and very expensive,  upgrade to the HVAC system. Thirdly, executives approached equipment manufacturers with the request to design equipment with energy efficiency in mind.  It has been widely documented that the equipment deployed in the telecom industry alone accounts for at least one percent of the power used globally.  This may not sound like a lot but it equates to billions of kilowatt hours annually. With emerging new services and technologies this consumption is not expected to go down but up – along with the price of energy. To encourage this radical change in mindset, RFP’s were written to include efficiency standards.  If you wanted to participate, manufacturers had to potentially redesign products to meet these standards.  And they did.

At the same time, utility energy rates continued to climb. Once the standard facility conservation practices were put into place – lower thermostats, controlled lighting, etc. – telecom providers had to start getting creative in lowering operating expense related to energy consumption.    It has been very encouraging to see the telecom industry as a whole embrace alternative energy as a sustainable and financially viable business model.  The large scale use of solar and wind for datacenter rooftops, fuel cells at small and remote locations and research into deployment of biofuels and geothermal for large corporate campuses is proving itself economically and will hopefully persuade other industries to continue to follow suit.

- Suzanne Beck

VP Sales

Telecom Solutions