"With the EnergyBuyer, we have been able to stay on top of volatile price swings and make hedging decisions that contain costs for our customers."
Should I buy natural gas today?
Should I wait for heating oil prices to retreat from current levels?
How much will my power demand change from last year?
THE BUSINESS PROBLEM
Numerous variables influence prices in today’s energy markets. In addition to traditional supply and demand fundamentals, energy prices are now affected by a record level of speculative trading activity and a heightened sensitivity to the shifting dynamics of global financial markets. In this environment, price swings are large and they happen quickly. For companies trying to plan energy expenditures, stabilize costs, or decide the right time to purchase energy, market conditions have never been more difficult and the cost of mistakes has never been higher.
Weather plays a big role in energy markets given its very direct connection to heating and cooling demand. On the supply and distribution side, hurricanes and other severe weather events can disrupt production or damage infrastructure. Most importantly, the market looks at weather as a reason to change sentiment or direction, triggering moves up or down in prices. These moves are then amplified by traders into steep spikes and dramatic drop-offs, dramatically increasing volatility and risk to energy end-users.
PLANALYTICS SOLUTION
Planalytics Energy Management Solutions helps businesses in the following areas:
Planalytics EnergyBuyer is a price analysis platform that provides “buy” or “wait” suggestions for commodities such as natural gas or heating oil.
Planalytics ImpactPower is an analysis platform that provides weekly, monthly, and seasonal projections of weather-driven demand changes.
