Gazzola Farms: turning salad into savings
Case study overview
Since switching to a Power Active plan in 2021, Gazzola Farms has made significant cost and carbon savings for its sites.
Gazzola Farms effectively reduced its base energy rate by taking advantage of dips in market prices with Flow Power’s Price Efficiency Adjustment and Active Option.
“The Active Option gave me peace of mind because Flow Power was monitoring the fluctuations in the market.”
Paul Gazzola – Director, Gazzola Farms
Gazzola Farms has been supplying quality fresh produce to Australians for more than 90 years
A family-owned business in operation for four generations, the farm grows vegetables like broccoli, lettuce, celery and Asian greens – but keeping them on our table year-round requires a lot of resources.
That’s why Gazzola Farms made the switch to a flexible and sustainable energy solution, with Flow Power.
Making the most of flexible operations
Like many fruit and veg farmers, Gazzola Farms has timing flexibility when it comes to energy-intensive operations within the business. Flexible operations are a natural fit for Flow Power’s Power Active energy contract.
Power Active rewards businesses for using more energy during cheap, or even negative price periods, thanks to its unique Price Efficiency Adjustment.
After making the switch to Power Active, Gazzola Farms shifted irrigation to low price periods, capitalising on the clean, cheap energy available to the grid during the day. And as a result? It saw savings reflected in its power bills and reduced its overall emissions, by using more energy generated by renewables.
By sticking with a standard peak and off-peak energy contract, businesses like Gazzola Farms could miss out on the cost and carbon reduction benefits of using energy, smarter.
Taking an active approach to electricity costs
Gazzola Farms also opted-in for Power Active’s unique add-on feature, the Active Option.
This contract feature has helped Gazzola Farms save each year of contracting, by reducing its base energy rate if the market prices decrease during the contracted period. Plus, it also protects it from paying a higher price if the market spikes.
When energy prices soared during 2022, Gazzola Farms renewed its contract and mitigated its timing risk by opting-in for the Active Option. This led to more than 40% savings on its base rate when prices eventually decreased (excluding the cost of the Active Option).
Knowing when to contract can be a challenge for business owners, but Paul Gazzola, Director of Gazzola Farms said the Active Option gave him ‘peace of mind’ because we were ‘monitoring the fluctuations in the market’ for him.
Monitoring the market to make a shift
Energy demand typically follows a similar pattern each day, but the market is notoriously volatile. This means businesses can’t simply rely on changing time of use to cut costs. They need a reliable way to monitor their usage and make changes in real-time, responding to fluctuating market prices.
So, how does Gazzola Farms know when to power ahead, or when to power down?
Signing up for our Market Monitoring Service is key.
Our team provides energy insights via the Market Monitoring Service, to keep Gazzola Farms in the loop with the latest updates from the wholesale market. These helpful notifications ensure the team doesn’t have to watch the market, because our experts do it for them.
Gazzola Farms is reducing its overall emissions by shifting energy use to periods of increased renewable generation.
Significant savings have been achieved via the Price Efficiency Adjustment, with additional base-rate savings unlocked, thanks to the Active Option.
Using energy during low demand periods isn’t just cost effective, it helps stabilise our shared grid.
Additionally, Gazzola Farms has taken part in RERT during periods of extreme demand, helping reduce strain on the grid.
Our team are ready to help your business use electricity smarter.
Speak to a Flow Power energy specialist today to discuss the best solution for you.