Active Energy: A Guide to the Electricity Market and Its Pricing System

As a business owner, it’s important for you to know and understand all aspects of your business – all direct and indirect costs and everything that affects your company’s bottom line.   Energy costs make up a significant portion of your overhead and directly affect profit margins.  As a result, your business’ energy costs are one of the items on the list that you should intimately know.  That’s especially the case as the cost of energy keeps increasing.

At Active Energy, we’ve been offering energy solutions to businesses in Ontario, and Quebec since 2005.  We are a natural gas and electricity supplier, which means that we buy energy futures for our customers.  As a result of our nearly ten years in the industry, as well as the deep experience of our Business Services team, we have an intimate knowledge of the natural gas and electricity markets, knowledge which not only allows us to build the best possible energy pricing structures for our customers, but also allows us to explain the rationale behind our pricing structures.  Additionally, we serve as an ongoing energy consultant for our customers, offering an array of energy management tools like hedging strategies and risk management analysis. 

The electricity market is one that can be particularly complicated when it comes to pricing, and it’s one that we really seek to describe to both our new and existing customers.  Broadly speaking, energy markets are continually influx.  Prices on energy commodities, such as natural gas and electricity, change every second based on supply and demand, and these price changes eventually reach you, the consumer. 

The electricity market functions on a more granular level compared to other energy markets.  More specifically, electricity prices are calculated every five minutes based on the level of supply and demand.  Naturally, prices will rise if the demand or, what’s called in industry parlance a “net system load shape”, is above the level of supply; and on the other end, electrical prices will fall if the demand is lower than the calculated level of supply.  Once again, these ratios are calculated every five minutes and prices change accordingly, which, in turn, has created the system of on-peak and off-peak hours in the market.

The unfortunate reality is that for residences and small businesses in Canada, these customers pay time-of-use electricity rates, meaning that their electricity bills are directly influenced by the dynamic five-minute price evaluation conducted by their utility company. 

That’s a mighty large variable cost that small businesses in Canada have to face, especially when trying to budget energy costs.  That’s one of the reasons why we at Active Energy offer multiple year fixed rate plans on electricity for our customers.  When a small business approaches us, we closely evaluate their business’ energy needs and we offer a flat electricity rate for the business that will remain exactly the same for the term of the agreement.  Our customers no longer have to worry about doing business during ‘peak hours’ or how to budget a highly fluctuating electricity bill – their electrical costs will be predictable, easily forecasted and far more in line with the requirements of a business.

Pillars in the Palace

Bogor Presidential Palace (Bogor,West Java, Indonesia) has lots of pillars to support the building structure. I captured some tall pillars in the main building. Before entering the main doors, these tall pillars are welcoming every guest. 

 The Weekend in Black and White

Townsville Builders Make Houses You Can Truly Call Your Home

Everybody dreams of having their own house – it’s one of those life investments that really just make sense because it’s useful and gives value to people. There are those who easily fulfill this dream, and then there are those who go through many life events first before finally determining that it’s an investment they want to make. Regardless of whether you’re the former or the latter, building a house is definitely one of those undertakings that can change your life in a big way.

The process is rarely easy, but it’s always worth it, according to those who already have this great asset to their name. Most of the time, the real challenge comes from the desire to build a house that fully reflects the values of the future dwellers and the life they wish to uphold. Well, this is a challenge, but at the same time it’s also an advantage because it’s the perfect opportunity to create an extension of who you are. All sorts of ideas naturally would come to the surface.And yes, it can be hard to make them all work together for a cohesive final plan, but the thing here is that this is where the value of highly experienced builders manifests.

For Townsville builders, the process begins with taking their clients’ vision or dreams seriously. This is largely the reason why the first appointment is very important; it’s because they want to thoroughly understand your vision so they can assure you that your dream home will truly become a reality. While some ideas may seem far-fetched, crafting a solution that works for you and the laws of building is a challenge these builders are fiercely willing to take on. They use their expertise in making sure that all your requirements are met and worked into the plan.

But if this isn’t the process you wish to go through and you’re really just looking for a place that’s beautifully constructed; if your desire for customisation is something you want to do on your own; and if what you want is a prepared house designwherein you can envision your plans becoming a reality, you can just choose from house and land packages. Townsville building companies will already have impressive house designs for you to choose from that can adapt to the brand of life you wish to have — and your budget, too.

Therefore, if you’re ready and just can’t wait to live in a house that you can call your own — your home — seek out really good and reputable builders. Townsville has a highly recommended company for the job and their promise is an excellently built home that you can afford so that, in no time, you would be living in a house that’s (in every sense of the word) also a home.

About The Author: Kenneth Lawrence is a "handyman". His craft involves DIY concepts and he likes to share guidelines and tips about home improvement. He writes and reads almost anything that can hone his skills and increase his knowledge about DIY concepts. Kenneth recommends http://deanpowellconstructions.com/ as a resource for home building needs. 

How to Recruit a Cleaning Company

In the busy modern world it is not surprising many people don’t have time to complete all of the tasks at home that they would like to. That is why there has been an influx of companies that offer domestic and office cleaning. However, if you decide that the cleanliness of your home is the priority and decides to employ a cleaner where do you start? Some people find conversations where they are asking another person to do chores in their home a little awkward, so this post will hopefully solve that.

To start with consider the space you want cleaning. Whether it is office space or domestic cleaning estimate how long it would take you to clean it and that will be a good guide. Just be realistic about what result you expect and the time you are willing to pay for.

Next, think about whether you would like to advertise privately and employ someone directly or through an agency or cleaning company. There are advantages to both but be aware if you employ someone directly you are responsible for their health and safety and right to work in this country. For any advice look online or speak to your local small business administration group. Whichever route you decide to take, ensure you see references and know a bit about the persons past. They are coming into your house, or place of work, after all.

The logistics need to be carefully considered and discussed with your cleaner, once appointed. For example, are you particular about what products you want them to use and are you going to supply them or pay for the cleaner to buy those. Have a conversation with them and set out very definite needs. Tell them what you know needs cleaning weekly and what can be done once a month. If they don’t know they can’t cater for your needs. Also discuss whether you will be in when they work, or go out. Some customers prefer to go out once a trusting relationship has been earnt, but remember to stay vigilant. If you leave private documents around human nature is nosey so don’t get prissy if the cleaner has had a little look.

It is also worth touching on what chores your cleaner will not do. Windows, for example, are usually not something a cleaner will do as a professional window company can do it for less time, money and effort. However, if they do agree to extra chores then ensure you are fair and pay them accordingly.

Payment is up to you as the customer although cleaners hired directly by you will expect payment on the day they work, so if this doesn’t suit you t honest and explain your reasoning.

Finally, iron out any potential issues, for example, does your cleaner smoke? If so, do you want them to only do so in your garden or away from your property? If you are completely clear in what you expect, without being disrespectful or unrealistic, then your new employee knows where they stand.

5 Things to Consider When Shopping for Horse-Friendly Property

If you're someone loves horses, so much in fact that you own a couple of them (or you're planning to in the near future) and you're in the market for a new house, then one of your top priorities may be to find the kind of property that is considered to be horse-friendly. If you're not exactly sure where to get started or about all of the things that you should be looking for, we've got a list of the top five things you should consider when shopping for a horse-friendly property below:

Are the pastures well taken care of? Although the person selling the property may initially tell you that it is quite horse-friendly, the condition of the pastures will confirm whether or not that is the case. If they have been properly maintained, you should not be able to see a lot of weeds. Plus, there will not be toxic plants that horses can eat. One website that provides a list of non-toxic and toxic plants is ASPCA.org.

Are the water sources adequate? None of us, including animals, are able to go very long without water. That's why another thing that you should be inquiring about is if the property has adequate enough water sources for your horses. This means that you should be looking for some kind of lake or creek or river that they can drink water from, aside from the stable that you plan to build or may already be on the property.

Is there a recent survey of the property? Something else that you definitely need to do is have the land surveyed. That way you can know what the property lines are, which natural water sources actually belong to you and the improvements and repairs that need to be made on the property. That said, unfortunately, one mistake that a lot of people tend to make is not having their property surveyed before making an offer. So, unless your real estate attorney tells you that it's not necessary to have one, invest in hiring a professional surveyor. For tips on hiring a land surveyor, visit Point to Point Survey and put "hiring a land surveyor" in the search field.

Is there a separate septic tank or sewer system for the barn? As it relates to finding the right kind of horse property, something else that you should do is ask if there is a separate septic tank or sewer system aside from the one that is attached to the house. Horses tend to produce quite a bit of manure and you definitely don't want to find out the hard way that there is not another waste system in place that's specifically for them. Speaking of manure, also don't forget to ask if there's a proper place to store and dispose of it too.

What's the zoning situation? If after going through this checklist, you realize that you've found the ideal property, before getting your stable design where you're planning to put your Treadall Horse Mats together, there's one more thing to look into: the zoning situation. If you don't ask, you could find out that you are on a piece of property where you actually are not allowed to keep horses (and that would be a real shame). You can find out about zoning issues in any city but going to the local county clerk's office. Best of luck to you!