By Eliza Pohle, Senior Energy Analyst
As a senior member of the Analytics Team here at Competitive Energy Services (CES), I ensure that we are compiling and presenting accurate and useful energy data, reporting on relevant market trends and policy updates, and maintaining strong working relationships with our clients. A key element of building long-term relationships with clients is CES’ ability to tailor recurring meetings to our clients’ specific interests and needs.
How do we approach our monthly or quarterly meetings with clients? This blog post covers the questions we ask as we develop an agenda and meeting content, how we delegate work across departments to be fully prepared to meet with a client, and what we do once the meeting has concluded to begin preparing for the next one.
The Prep Phase
Meeting preparation starts well in advance when the CES Analytics and Energy Services Advisors (ESA) teams meet to draft the agenda. We start by referencing the agenda and notes from the meeting prior and we ask the following:
- What was covered?
- Were there any topics we did not discuss that should remain on the agenda or merit more time?
- Did we follow up on the items we needed to since the last meeting?
- Is there anything outstanding that we need from the client or other CES departments?
- Once we have reviewed these items, we look ahead to where we want to focus the next meeting:
- Are there open energy supply contracts that require requested bids from suppliers ahead of time? If so, were the requests made?
- Are there major reports being delivered to the client that we need to review as a team, such as a fiscal year budget, a monthly or quarterly NEGC/NEB report or Variance Tracker, or an annual Carbon Tracker?
- Is there any feedback from the internal team on these reports or any final data gaps where we might need support from the CES Data Services team or from the client?
The CES client team delegates the next steps from this pre-meeting discussion. At this stage, we may need to lean on our partner energy suppliers and/or utilities to help resolve any billing errors, request updated bids from the CES Pricing Team, or follow up with the client on any outstanding items.
Our CES client team works to identify data gaps that may occur, ensuring every detail is addressed before finalizing reports and refreshing our market slide deck, all selected to update our clients on relevant market changes. After a final review of the materials, we send them off to the client in advance of the meeting.
The CES Client Meeting
During the meeting, the prepared agenda and presentation slides are utilized to direct and structure the discussion. The market slides included are selected for the client and are customized based on a client’s energy sources, open positions, market movements, state and federal policy updates, and/or the client’s specific energy initiatives.
The focus areas and key discussion points of client meetings change as we move throughout the year. For example, topics we are currently discussing with clients may include:
- Each fall, CES can project capacity tags from the estimated summer Peak Day and Hour. For clients who participate in Demand Response programs or those actively working to reduce their load during that estimated peak hour, we often have access to hourly electricity data. This allows us to visualize the impact of those efforts and technologies, quantify the dollar value of this demand reduction based on the ISO New England (ISO-NE) Forward Capacity Market and reserve margin, and compare performance to previous summers. Many of these clients participate in CES’ Self Help Program, where we use load and temperature forecasts throughout the summer to predict when the Peak Day and Hour might occur.
- For clients with open positions, our focus shifts to the approaching winter weather forecast, past winter pricing trends, and future NYMEX and Basis pricing, among other factors. We assess how changes in market conditions could affect a client’s energy cost exposure, evaluate the client’s risk tolerance and need for budget certainty, and recommend procurement actions accordingly.
- For clients that have established sustainability goals, we collect and analyze their energy data to track progress and identify actionable next steps. This may include reviewing their annual Carbon Tracker Report and estimating the volume of Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) or Carbon Offsets needed to reach their goal. We provide education on strategies to electrify their heating load or identify areas where progress may not be meeting established targets. We also monitor evolving state and federal policies and incentives that affect availability and pricing of renewable energy technologies and other market tools that can help achieve those goals. Recently, the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act by the Trump Administration garnered significant attention among our clients and has been a key focus area in recent meetings.
- We track updates to utility delivery rates for clients across the U.S. where our clients operate. For example, for our clients in Maine who take electric service from Central Maine Power Company (CMP), we have been monitoring the status and timeline of CMP’s recently announced distribution rate case. Analyzing the potential impact of CMP’s rate case together with other variables that impact electric delivery pricing, such as CMP’s new stranded cost rates that went into effect at the beginning of October and CMP’s annual transmission rate change that will go into effect in January 2026, helps paint a full picture of current and upcoming rate changes for our clients in southern, central, and western Maine.
After the Meeting
After the meeting concludes, preparation for the next meeting begins. At CES, we are committed to leading discussions and finding solutions tailored to each client’s unique energy needs, which is reflected by our client base spanning a range of sectors including higher education, healthcare, corporate, municipalities, manufacturing, retail, not-for-profit, and more. Each client has different goals, and we pride ourselves on our ability to thoughtfully utilize recurring meetings to help advise and guide clients towards meeting their objectives.
If you are interested in meeting with CES to discuss how we can help you with your unique energy needs, please contact one of our Energy Services Advisors.
Photo by Wasan Tita