Savings, especially in the energy sector, have become something of a mantra these days. Cities and municipalities manage public funds and it is therefore highly desirable that they manage them in the best possible way.
Everyone has to pay energy bills, which tend to be a significant item on the expenditure side of the budget. Efforts to minimise them are entirely appropriate. How can one save money in this area?
THE EASIEST WAY: CHOOSING THE RIGHT SUPPLIER
Everyone deals with the choice of an electricity or gas supplier from time to time. When purchasing electricity and natural gas, public contracting authorities follow the procedures set forth in Act No. 134/2016 Coll. on public procurement (PPA). Thanks to the exemption under Section 64(c) of the PPA, the client has the opportunity to purchase energy without publication on the commodity exchange. What does that actually mean? Compared to the time-consuming open procedure, it is a very simple, fast, administratively simple, transparent and unassailable by other suppliers. As a result of the simplicity, speed and transparency of the exchange purchase, all ministries, most regions, large cities and small towns, municipalities and many other public administration entities that fall under the public procurement regime now secure energy in this modern way.
PREFERENCE IS GIVEN TO VERIFIED SUPPLIERS
PXE is the only exchange that guarantees thorough verification and guarantees of all suppliers operating in this highly competitive environment. The financial soundness of each PXE supplier is continuously verified through the obligation to have a clearing bank verify their creditworthiness before entering the PXE market. It turns out that this is indeed a superior condition, one that no other platform in our country has. Suppliers participating in auctions organised by PXE must meet all the conditions required under the PPA, such as demonstrating basic professional competence, establishing the beneficial owner of the company, etc.
THE VOLUME PURCHASED IS NOT DECISIVE
PXE does not insist on a strictly set minimum volume of energy demanded. PXE clients include a number of smaller municipalities with a volume of 100 MWh/year that successfully use PXE services, and the price per MWh achieved in the auction was very similar to that of much larger customers such as ministries, regions and larger cities. This is the magic of auctions on the exchange market. Thanks to the concentration of liquidity and the connection to the wholesale market, in the case of PXE a truly international market, optimal pricing is ensured for each customer of the auction market. For many years, the traditional and only possible way of establishing the price of a commodity was a fixed price. However, this price is now increasingly being replaced by a gradual purchase coefficient, especially for multi-year contracts. During the first three quarters of 2019, more than two million megawatt-hours were traded on the PXE End-User Market, with more than 80 percent of the volume being auctioned using the gradual price fixing method.
The CLIENT APPLICATION ALSO INCREASES BENEFITS
The PXE exchange is constantly improving its system and adapting it to the needs of its clients. Therefore, it developed the PARC client application, thanks to which the client has detailed information about its points of delivery, customers, delivery terms and conditions, and all contractual documentation stored in one place for the entire duration of the mutual cooperation. At the same time, each auction is archived. This makes the preparation of each new request clear, very quick and simple. The entire auction can also be monitored online via PARC. The interest in cooperation with PXE is growing every year and currently there are more than 4,403 contracts concluded. For more information on purchasing energy through the commodity exchange, please visit: http://www.pxeaukce.cz.