Editorial – Cracking Christmas at capacity?

Phew, aren’t you glad of time off this Christmas? We certainly are and the team is having a well earned rest for a couple of days, after all we have […]

Phew, aren’t you glad of time off this Christmas?

We certainly are and the team is having a well earned rest for a couple of days, after all we have been working damn hard this year!

Here at ELN we have grown and produced more videos and stories than ever before. We have more readers, will soon launch a members club and have had lots more people hitting our pages, thanks by the way! Our events have got bigger and I am so proud of the effort of our tiny team, to put together two such huge spectacles as the TELCA night in June and Energy Live in November.

We are I suppose, the embodiment of a small business, a team of 10 working as fast as we can to bring you the news daily, produce great video and of course sell ourselves to sponsors and supporters. We are working the way most small firms do, fast, lean and sometimes chaotically. But are we working at capacity? Are we pushing ourselves as far as we can?

Perhaps, perhaps not.

There is more we could do with sorting out our processes and billing, expenditure and budgeting. Maybe a new bit of software could change our editing time, or it might simply be getting staff to work harder and longer (don’t worry guys…I’m kidding..sort of!). Whatever it is there is probably more we can do to optimise our time at work and the product we produce.

And so it strikes me, it must be for businesses up and down the land and the energy sector as a whole. As we take a breath over crimbo should we reflect on what we are doing as the UK climbs out of six long years of recession?

This Xmas is the first where we have not reported on energy prices rises, in fact it’s the first time we’ve talked about possible price cuts and falling oil prices. The winter has been mild, we have plenty of gas and the X factor winner is No.1 despite the best efforts of that annoying little football fan! Yep, all looks rosy.

But is it really?

So far we are safe but this is also the winter with the tightest capacity margin for a decade. It will get worse. Whatever your view on this month’s auction, there is no doubt our future looks tricky. Going forward we will have to rely on these companies to fill in the gap, when the coal plants come offline and the wind doesn’t blow. Will they deliver? The Government certainly thinks so.

But whether you believe the political rhetoric or not, it’s clear we have to be careful as we simply can’t keep pace with demand with our current targets.

So using the capacity word as read. Are we as businesses working towards energy reduction and efficiency as fast as we could? Have you put in the processes to help you bridge the gap, explored self generation, cut waste, implemented strict targets? I seriously doubt it.

Human nature is to take it easy until we are pushed. Right now we are fine and short term thinking is what we all do so well. Perhaps we should consider that while working hard at making money and growing our bottom line is obviously the goal for all businesses. Working just as hard at using less might be the best thing to do this next year and the best gift we could give to ourselves and society next Xmas.

Have a great Xmas and don’t forget to turn the lights off tonight, I’m sure Santa has an LED torch to light the way!

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