California Businesses Tighten Their Belts

California businesses have made a number of changes this year to cope with higher energy prices and the prospect of rolling blackouts, according to Primen, an energy market intelligence company with headquarters in Madison, Wis. Some key findings of Primen's research include: "Clearly, one of the most significant results from California's energy crisis may be the growing crisis in confidence wi...

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California businesses have made a number of changes this year to cope with higher energy prices and the prospect of rolling blackouts, according to Primen, an energy market intelligence company with headquarters in Madison, Wis. Some key findings of Primen's research include:

• Three out of four California businesses say they took steps to cut energy use.

• One out of five businesses installed more energy efficient equipment.

• At least 10% of businesses in northern California purchased backup power generators, and another 27% say they are likely to buy backup generation over the 2001-2003 period.

• Another 18% of businesses statewide said they were likely, over the two-year period, to acquire an on-site power solution that would meet most or all of their needs.

"Clearly, one of the most significant results from California's energy crisis may be the growing crisis in confidence within the business community about the dependability of their energy providers," says David Lineweber, director of the Primen study.

A separate nationwide study commissioned by Chubb Financial Solutions and performed by Impulse Research, Los Angeles, found that 32% of companies surveyed did not foresee energy problems that occurred. When faced with these problems, 22% "elected to do nothing."

For companies in the Chubb survey that said they planned to do something about energy prices, purchase of backup generators was the preferred solution, with 26% of respondents choosing this particular option.

Other strategies to cope with the rise in the cost of power include: setting aside some extra money (20%) and changing employee work schedules to take advantage of lower-cost power.

From Pure Power, Winter 2001.