Why a Virtual Energy Manager could be the solution

Published: July 17, 2021.

Project delivery - Renewable Energy - Northmore Gordon

A Virtual Energy Manager is an outsourced support service providing direct access to our complete team, delivering skills of an experienced energy management group without full-time employment costs. This partnership model aligns financial interests between provider and client, creating shared commitment to energy productivity and sustainable cost reduction. Unlike traditional consulting engagements, the Virtual Energy Manager functions as an integrated extension of the client's organization, responsible for identifying opportunities, managing compliance, and implementing improvements while maintaining accountability for measurable outcomes throughout the engagement period.

At Northmore Gordon our focus remains on helping large business reduce energy costs. Our customers are facing more energy cost challenges now than at any time in the past 20 years. We don't need to reiterate the issues here, suffice to say that the current political environment and the broken energy market has resulted in unsustainable energy prices.

Something has to give.

Will it be you? Your staff? Your business viability? Or can we draw deep on our resourcefulness to improve energy productivity, reduce energy waste, use alternative fuels, and take your business to the next level of energy performance?

We would like to think the latter is true. Technology costs are reducing, low-hanging fruit re-grows, and we continue to find cost-effective opportunities to reduce energy costs.

Through speaking with our customers, we find that they have three main problems:

  1. Corporate targets and budgets for energy and greenhouse gas are not being met.
  2. Data is unavailable, or inadequate to manage energy cost
  3. There are not enough resources (human or financial) to address energy cost.

This is why we introduced a new product to help our customers get the resources they need, address data issues, and achieve their corporate targets. It is called "Virtual Energy Manager", an outsourced support service that is designed to give you direct access to our complete team, and aligns our financial interests with yours. We don't just see ourselves as a service provider, but a partner that is passionately interested in your success.

The Virtual Energy Manager provides you with access to the skills of an experienced energy management team without the associated costs. We assist you and your management teams to set and achieve energy productivity goals, comply with energy or greenhouse gas regulations, and create and implement a program of works.

At Northmore Gordon, we guarantee quick wins within three months and share the risk and rewards over the life of the program.

For more information, check out our Virtual Energy Manager page or contact us directly.

Using this guidance

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What is a Virtual Energy Manager, according to Northmore Gordon?

A Virtual Energy Manager is an outsourced support service providing direct access to our complete team, delivering skills of an experienced energy management group without full-time employment costs. This partnership model aligns financial interests between provider and client, creating shared commitment to energy productivity and sustainable cost reduction. Unlike traditional consulting engagements, the Virtual Energy Manager functions as an integrated extension of the client's organization, responsible for identifying opportunities, managing compliance, and implementing improvements while maintaining accountability for measurable outcomes throughout the engagement period.

What does the Virtual Energy Manager service help businesses achieve?

The Virtual Energy Manager assists organizations in setting and achieving energy productivity goals while managing regulatory compliance for energy and greenhouse gas obligations. The service enables identification of improvement opportunities, prioritization of capital investments based on technical and financial criteria, and structured tracking of progress toward energy targets. By combining strategic planning with operational execution, businesses can implement a coordinated program of works that addresses both immediate cost reduction and longer-term sustainability objectives while maintaining compliance with applicable reporting and efficiency frameworks across their operations.

What guarantee does Northmore Gordon offer with the Virtual Energy Manager program?

We guarantee quick wins within three months of starting the Virtual Energy Manager program and shares both financial risk and rewards over the engagement duration. This commitment structure aligns the service provider's interests directly with customer success, creating incentive to deliver early measurable value while building toward sustained performance improvements. The risk-sharing model demonstrates confidence in the service's ability to identify immediate opportunities, implements corrective actions rapidly, and establishes momentum for longer-term energy management transformation while providing customers with tangible early evidence of program effectiveness and value delivery.

How does Northmore Gordon's six-stage delivery approach support Virtual Energy Manager engagement?

Our six-stage approach—Assess, Build the Case, Capture Value, Deliver, Procure, and Perform—provides structured framework for virtual energy management engagement. The Assess stage identifies opportunities and evidence gaps; Build the Case validates technical and commercial viability; Capture Value explores funding and certificates; Deliver implements and verifies improvements; Procure manages energy and environmental attribute purchasing; and Perform sustains outcomes through ongoing review and management. This systematic progression ensures each decision is evidence-based, deliverables connect to business requirements, and performance outcomes are tracked and sustained beyond initial implementation.

What role does energy management play in the Virtual Energy Manager model?

Energy management is foundational to the Virtual Energy Manager model, involving assignment of clear ownership roles, maintenance of a prioritized opportunity register tracking candidates and progress, and scheduled reviews of relevant performance measures. This structured approach transforms assessment findings into ongoing operational improvement by documenting implementation, verifying performance against baseline conditions, and investigating unexpected changes. Regular reviews—routine operational checks, monthly energy reviews, project reviews, and periodic management reviews—create accountability, enable rapid response to performance deviations, and sustain the organizational discipline necessary for achieving and maintaining energy productivity improvements over extended periods.

How can measurement and verification support the Virtual Energy Manager's performance claims?

Measurement and verification establishes rigorous evidence that implemented improvements deliver intended energy outcomes by comparing post-project performance against agreed baselines under comparable operating conditions. This methodological foundation allows the Virtual Energy Manager to demonstrate actual savings, substantiate investment decisions with verified data, and quantify program performance objectively. By keeping engineering estimates, verified energy results, and certificate outcomes distinct, measurement and verification provides credible documentation supporting both financial accountability and regulatory compliance evidence. This rigor strengthens the Virtual Energy Manager's ability to track program effectiveness, identify underperforming investments, and adjust strategy based on verified operational outcomes rather than assumptions.

What information should a business provide when engaging a Virtual Energy Manager?

Businesses should prepare site locations, operating constraints, production volumes, equipment descriptions, and available energy history including bills and interval data. Clarify the business decision requiring energy management support, current project stage, firm decision deadlines, and existing compliance obligations affecting the engagement scope. This information enables the Virtual Energy Manager to establish appropriate assessment boundaries, identify missing evidence needed for opportunity evaluation, and prioritize quick-win identification. Distinguishing measured data from estimates, disclosing prior incentives or certificate arrangements, and explaining operating changes helps the Virtual Energy Manager scope engagement efficiently and recommend next steps without requiring perfect initial information.

How does the Virtual Energy Manager approach help address energy cost volatility?

The Virtual Energy Manager reduces exposure to volatile energy prices by identifying efficiency improvements that decrease consumption while maintaining required operational performance. By building and prioritizing an opportunity register, comparing investments on consistent financial assumptions, and monitoring performance through structured energy management systems, the service creates operational resilience independent of market fluctuations. This focus on reducing avoidable energy waste and improving productivity provides insulation from price shocks. Regular performance reviews and ongoing optimization enable continuous cost reduction, while measurement and verification documents achieved savings, providing financial certainty and demonstrating tangible value that extends beyond temporary favorable pricing windows.

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