firmus energy contracts first dual fuel customer
Pictured are Ian Aiken, Finance Director and David Halliday, General Manager of Norbov with Mark Prentice, (centre) General Manager of firmus energy.
Following the recent announcement of an electricity licence for firmus energy, the company has now started to contract customers across Northern Ireland.
Already a well-established natural gas provider, the award of the electricity licence has opened up new markets for firmus energy.
They can now provide three options to commercial and industrial customers right across Northern Ireland. These options are natural gas only, electricity only or both natural gas and electricity (also known as dual fuel).
It is an exciting time for the company who are looking to the future with their first dual fuel customer secured. Ballymena-based Norbev, a major drinks manufacturer have been a firmus energy natural gas customer since the summer of 2006. They have production facilities extending to 50,000 sq ft and customers across the UK, Republic of Ireland and France and were attracted to the cost savings they could make by buying both natural gas and electricity from the same company.
Expansion and diversification have always been key goals for firmus energy. Mark Prentice, general manager for firmus energy, said: “Our parent company BGE have offered dual fuel for over two years and are now in the process of building a new power station. Having connected almost 90% of the large industrial and commercial customers in our 10 towns, the additional offer of electricity was a natural progression.
“Norbev will see substantial cost savings as a result of this move and they can now budget ahead with confidence as they now know what their energy costs will be for the next two years.
“We believe that our entry into this market will mean more choice, which in the end means more competition and the chance of securing a better deal. In this economic climate, the opportunity to save on fuel costs can be a real motivator for a business to look at alternatives.”
In addition, firmus energy offers all customers regular updates through its key account managers as well as transparency and flexibility in it pricing.
Ian Aiken, finance director, of Norbev added: “We switched to natural gas in summer 2006 and have found it a much more economical option than oil. We have benefited from the differentiated service that firmus energy offers, enabling us to work realistically to fuel budgets.
“Our production facilities include heavy-duty steam machinery which is powered by natural gas and other industrial machinery which is powered by electricity. When we heard that firmus energy is now offering electricity, we priced the dual fuel option and realised that there were further major savings that we as a company could make by sourcing our natural gas and electricity from the same provider.”
Other companies interested in finding out further information on what firmus energy can offer, can call 08456 080088.
