Insights

Changing Your Embedded Network Operator

20 August 2018

Have you been thinking that maybe it’s time to change your embedded network operator (ENO)? Maybe you haven’t been deriving the benefit you believe you should be, or your network is not performing to expectations. Maybe your contract is up, and you want to review what opportunities are out there that could benefit your building.

Or maybe you hadn’t been thinking about it at all until you read the first paragraph or saw this recent ABC News report. Whatever the reason, looking at the way in which your embedded network is operating for you is a sensible decision and one that is in the best interests of your building, particularly when you can reach an outcome that better meets its needs.

In an earlier post on Network Rehabilitation we discussed a few reasons why your embedded network may not be providing your building, or your residents, with any benefit. Because that’s the whole point of an embedded network; delivering benefit to the building and the people who live and work in it. As electricity pricing continues to soar, along with fees and maintenance, having a solution for your electricity that delivers value to you, and not your operator, should be your top priority.

How to change your embedded network operator

Changing your operator can be a straightforward exercise. Much depends on the status of your contract, so a lawyer will come in handy here. You’ll need to have a clear understanding of who owns your meters, is it you or your operator? Can you change them, will they charge you a fee to remove them or will you have to pay a lot of money to have them replaced?

Determining what you want from the changeover is a large part of what you need to sort out. Understanding up front that changing operators should result in you owning your embedded network is key.

The benefits of owning your embedded network

When you own your network, you get to control what happens with your network. You derive the financial benefit from the network and this means that decide how it is best utilised.

Do you want zero common area electricity costs? Or just better rates for your common areas and your residents? Do you want a fairly priced building delivering an annual surplus income stream to help with reducing other fees and levies to owners?

When you own the network, you have the flexibility to decide your own future. You control the asset that is rightfully yours and your operator should deliver you a flexible, fairly priced, fully managed, simple to understand, transparent solution that doesn’t burden your Owners Committee, Strata Manager or Building Manager with extra workload.

This is the way that Energy On works with our customers. Flexible, transparent and secure embedded network operations are our bread and butter. As one OC Chairperson said: “Before choosing Energy On for our embedded network we had no control. Our rates were high, we had no flexibility and no power. Importantly, we got no annual benefit at all. Working with Energy On after tendering our business has seen our embedded network go from delivering no value to an amazing annual return”.

Whatever it is, make your desired outcome clear when you speak to and embedded network operator and make sure that they can deliver on your needs. Remember, just like its your building, it should also be your embedded network.