Energy as resilience: why infrastructure choices make operational sense
Canterbury businesses know what disruption looks like. From earthquakes to extreme weather, or a global crisis, local businesses have found ways to adapt, keep the lights on, the data flowing, and the doors open for business. With current fuel pressures, ongoing electricity price volatility, and the rising digital load placed on every business, energy management is now a competitive issue, needing to be considered as part of practical, long-term thinking as a strategic concern that shapes a business’ cost of operations, and resilience.
That's the message from Charlie Littlewood, Head of Regulation, at Enable Fibre Broadband. We met with Charlie to explore how businesses can improve their energy management, and think more practically about their energy choices.
Treating energy resilience as strategy
Running a fibre network takes serious electricity. Enable have had to look at multiple ways to protect their ability to provide this for businesses including continuity planning and diversification of sources.
One of their approaches to ensuring this is always available is built on long-term scenario thinking that looks at different conditions that might exist in 2050 taking into consideration a variety of elements including electricity prices, fuel availability, carbon pricing, population growth, extreme weather events, regulatory change, and how transport and housing networks could shift. Running different scenarios show why it makes good business sense, and makes it easier to get across the line.
‘We think about different scenarios that might be in play in 2050, and then what it would cost to run a network under those scenarios. A longer-term perspective means some decisions become much easier, as if we keep doing what we're doing, then we'll be worse off.”
Diversifying energy sources sits at the centre of Enable’s planning. The central offices that form the hubs of Enable’s network can each serve up to 12,000 - 24,000 end users, and they’re packed with electronics that draw substantial power.
Solar arrays now sit on four of Enable’s central buildings, capable of meeting up to 15% of their electricity needs. Combined with batteries and diesel generators, solar is one layer of a deliberately mixed approach to keeping the network running through outages, and reducing operational costs in times of volatility.
"We're a lifeline utility. If power goes out, we need these offices to keep running," Charlie explains. "Solar just adds another trick in the playbook."
100% of Enable’s vehicle fleet has also shifted to electric and hybrids. This move is now paying off through current fuel pressures (with lower emissions an important side benefit).
Charlie says the bigger picture matters with the whole energy system part of an ongoing major transformation. Gas supply is dropping, electricity prices keep increasing and the payback for renewables and EVs continues to improve. That’s why looking beyond the next electricity bill is so important, to wider impacts on how your business is performing, and will perform in the future.
Fibre - the energy-efficient choice for internet connectivity
One of the more under-appreciated elements in this picture is the connectivity infrastructure businesses already rely on every day.
“Fibre is the most energy-efficient broadband option available, and research indicates it uses 30 to 40% less energy than copper and 60 and 98% less than fixed wireless alternatives. So by choosing fibre, you're already choosing the most energy efficient internet connectivity option.”
It’s also how you use connectivity to support your business operations. If you've got an asset or facility you want to better control or monitor remotely, how can use ‘always-on’ high capacity connectivity to monitor inputs, outputs and productivity and ultimately improve your bottom-line.
Practical energy takeaways for every business
Keep energy resilience simple
Charlie's advice is to keep things simple and start with the basics. Focusing on "top two costs and top two risks" is enough to begin shaping smarter decisions on energy choices and usage.
A few practical questions worth considering:
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What does energy spend look like as a proportion of operating costs — and how exposed is the business to volatility?
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If one energy source becomes expensive or unreliable, what’s the backup? Is there enough diversity in the mix?
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Is the current infrastructure (connectivity, fleet, premises) working for your energy goals, or quietly working against them?
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Have you run some scenarios to understand where there could be quick wins or efficiencies made?
Focus on what is useful for you and your business
"There's a lot of information out there. The key is working out what's useful to you."
Most businesses don’t have to start from scratch, as there are often plenty of sector-level insights and work done already exists. Consider seeking out other companies in your industry to explore what they’ve done, and if they have run scenarios which will be relevant to your own situation.
Pulling on that work, then layering in expertise to tailor scenarios to a specific business, can quickly fill in the picture without reinventing the wheel.
Energy management is infrastructure security.
Canterbury businesses that take a long-term view of energy (i.e. questioning their cost exposure, diversifying where it makes sense, choosing infrastructure that supports their goals, and preparing for volatility), will be the businesses strong and adaptable enough to withstand business impacts, should different scenarios arise.
"Are there decisions you would have liked to have made a few years ago if you thought about this risk, and what are the potential other future risks that maybe you should be thinking about now?"
Have the conversations
Businesses need to keep talking about their energy risks and opportunities. The choices businesses make about how they power their operations, how they diversify their energy sources, and what they rely on to stay connected aren’t separate conversations. They're part of the same resilience conversation that needs to keep taking place in order to maintain energy resilience.
The Enable Business Series is proudly brought to you by our Supporting Partner Enable Fibre Broadband.
