Energy woes boost business for other firms
By Jon Swartz, USA TODAY
SAN FRANCISCO — California's energy crisis and its looming summer of blackouts threatens to plunge many into the dark. But some firms are cashing in.
Today, a 50% electric power rate increase kicks in for many California users. To cut costs, companies are pursuing:
• Energy-efficiency consultants. Demand for conservation consultants has soared. Xenergy, which runs conservation programs for Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern Edison and the California Energy Commission, says business is up 25% in recent months. Consulting firm Schiller Associates expects sales to double. The most popular services: energy audits, which research how customers use, and waste, energy.
• New technologies. General Electric reports brisk orders of its new Arctica refrigerator, which uses up to 40% less energy than previous models. Whirlpool, Maytag and others have also upgraded refrigerators to meet higher energy-efficiency standards. Refrigerators cost $12 to $22 a month to power in Northern California, experts estimate.
Venture capitalists, meanwhile, are expressing interest in energy start-ups, including one that is pursuing technology to harness the power of ocean waves, says John Freeman, a business professor at the University of California at Berkeley, where Sea Power started as a class project.
• Equipment. Hardware vendor Electric City, maker of EnergySaver, a computer-control panel that cuts lighting consumption up to 50%, projects a 300% jump in sales this year. San Francisco International Airport is a new customer, it says.
• Contractors. There is heightened interest in electricians and plumbers as customers seek to curb energy use by adjusting air-conditioning and water-heating systems, says Lucien Canton, director of San Francisco's Office of Emergency Services. Schaumann Air Conditioning, Heating & Plumbing says calls are up 10% this year and will increase as summer nears. "People want to know how they can save money," says sales manager Michael Russell.
Power-conscious manufacturers are snapping up established technologies — such as solar energy, continuous power supplies and backup generators — that fell out of favor when power was plentiful and cheap.
"When energy becomes more expensive and scarce, a number of technologies that used to be marginal become more economically viable," says Mike Sullivan, an energy-conservation consultant. "We went through this before, during the 1970s oil crisis."
Not every entrepreneur is gloating over its good fortunes. "It's a mixed blessing," says conservation consultant Steve Schiller. "The electricity shortage helps our business, but it hurts the overall economy," he says. "In the long run, that's not within any businesses' best interests."
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