National Express Bus has announced a new partnership with the energy supply platform SQE and Zenobē which will see the company overhaul its UK energy procurement model, enabling cost reduction, risk management and lower emissions.
A two-year collaborative agreement between all parties will provide National Express Bus with a new, end-to-end power management solution for its electric fleet, with SQE’s procurement model allowing Zenobē to manage 47GWh of renewable energy and, in the process, support National Express Bus’s ambition to achieve a zero-emission fleet, as well as its move away from a traditional fixed-price energy contract.
The new model, facilitated by SQE’s platform, will allow National Express Bus to procure electricity through Zenobē’s power procurement team at live wholesale prices, whilst also allowing the company to sell unused energy back to the grid when consumption is lower than forecast.
With 80-90% of National Express Bus’s energy consumption occurring as vehicles return overnight to charge; the approach is hoped to suit to the company’s operational profile and align with real-time, actual usage patterns.
Roy Brewer, Head of Strategic Sourcing at Mobico Group – parent company of National Express Bus – said:As volatility in the energy market continues, we need to be smarter about how we buy energy. SQE and Zenobē’s approach is a breath of fresh air in corporate energy procurement.
We’re thrilled to be partnering with SQE – a market disruptor who genuinely understands our needs and has given us the most cost-effective route to energy procurement. Corporate energy procurement is historically complex, but its line-by-line, transparent invoicing – which gives us access to site-specific half-hourly data – has enabled us to truly understand, and report on, where and how we’re using energy.
