npower’s Wayne Mitchell’s blog

The changing face of news If you were playing one of those word association games and someone said ‘news’ to you, what would you immediately think of? ‘Paper’ is what […]

The changing face of news
If you were playing one of those word association games and someone said ‘news’ to you, what would you immediately think of? ‘Paper’ is what comes to my mind. But that’s probably me showing my age.

Today’s internet-loving consumers are far more likely to say Twitter (230 million regular active users) or Mail Online (161 million). You only have to catch a train to see that instead of wrestling with a broadsheet, most passengers are using their smart phones, tablets or laptops to access the same information online (reception permitting, of course).

But even if you prefer the feel of newsprint between your fingers, accessing information for your work – especially if you’re involved in the energy sector – is almost certain to require online interaction. Energy managers need to track consumption in real-time if they want to quickly indentify and rectify issues. And buyers overseeing a flexible purchasing portfolio need to carefully scrutinise the market to decide the best time to trade.

Respond to the market
You don’t need me to tell you that today’s energy market is volatile. Changes in weather patterns, political crises in oil-producing regions, natural disasters such as the tsunami that damaged the Fukushima nuclear power station in Japan, DECC announcing new energy policies, the EU releasing European carbon emission reduction targets… Events such as these can trigger sudden hikes or falls in the market, creating opportunities for savvy buyers looking to buy – or even temporarily sell – energy at the right price.

That’s why our award-winning team of experts on the npower Optimisation Desk tweet market updates twice daily @npowerbusiness. And from last week, our popular Market Update video round-up https://bit.ly/nV1deo has become daily rather than weekly – providing you with 24 hours of activity and market-related assessment distilled into two short minutes.

Even to a dinosaur like me, that beats reading yesterday’s news in the paper. But if you’re still feeling a bit resistant to making the online switch, I’d like to let you into a little secret.

If you really haven’t got your head around Twitter, You Tube and the like, while you’re adapting (or for as long as you like), our Optimisation Desk can do the hard work for you. Via a range of innovative products and services, the team can help you set the right energy-buying strategy to meet your business’s requirements and budget, then monitor the market on your behalf and trade at the optimal time. Visit https://www.npower.com/large-business/buying-energy/ to find out more.

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