How One Glass Recycler Turned Hidden Energy Costs Into £3 Million of Savings
Most businesses assume they’re paying the right amount for their energy. It’s one of those costs that sits in the background and rarely gets a second look. But what if that assumption was wrong?
That’s exactly what happened when one of the UK’s largest glass recyclers found itself looking for a new energy partner after its previous consultant collapsed.
Saved annually through resolving misapplied charges
Identified annual energy efficiency savings
Of energy relief applied over 5 years
How it started
Understandably, their first priority was continuity. They had contracts to manage and no one able to take control, so they needed an energy partner who could step in quickly and keep things running smoothly.
But they wanted more than just someone to handle procurement. They wanted a partner who would actually dig into their energy setup, look for inefficiencies, and flag anything that might have been missed along the way.
So that’s what we did. We took on their energy procurement and started building a holistic energy strategy.
The first discovery
Before we even got into their procurement strategy, we reviewed their historical energy invoices.
Our Bureau team ran a full audit and found something unusual at one of the recycler’s sites. The site was connected via a private electricity network, and because of how that connection worked, two specific charges, Distribution Use of System (DUoS) and Transmission Network Use of System (TNUoS), weren’t being applied correctly.
We flagged it with the supplier, worked through the details together, and confirmed the error. The result was a saving of around £800,000 a year. That annual saving isn’t because the business used less energy, but because it had been paying the wrong charges.
It’s a good reminder that some of the biggest savings don’t come from using less energy. Sometimes they come from making sure you’re being billed correctly in the first place.
We didn’t stop there
Finding and fixing that billing error would have been a strong result on its own. But we kept looking.
Our Energy Management team carried out the recycler’s ESOS compliance audit. That process uncovered a further £818,000 in potential annual savings, along with the opportunity to cut carbon emissions by more than 1,345 tonnes of CO₂e every year.
We also installed EMaaS Insight sensors across several of their sites. These gave the business a much clearer, real-time picture of how energy was actually being used day to day, which made it easier to spot where further improvements could be made.
On top of all that, we identified that the business qualified for relief from certain energy charges. That discovery added up to a further £1.5 million in savings over the five-year certification period.
What this meant for the business
What began as a search for someone to manage energy contracts evolved into something much broader: a partnership focused on continually finding new opportunities. It’s easy to assume your energy bills are correct simply because no one has told you otherwise, and this client’s experience shows why that assumption is worth challenging.
Incorrect charges were identified and resolved. Energy efficiency opportunities were quantified. Available relief was secured. And the business gained far greater visibility into where its energy spend was going and where further opportunities could exist.
The biggest change, though, was one of control. Energy was no longer simply a cost to be managed in the background, it became an area of the business that could be actively scrutinised, challenged, and improved.
Sometimes the greatest value doesn’t come from changing the way you use energy. It comes from taking a closer look at the way your energy is bought, billed and managed.
Ready to look closer?
If you’re wondering whether similar opportunities exist within your business, we’d love to help.
Learn more about our Energy Exposure Assessment.
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