A man who for many years led an energy-conservation drive as a supervisor at Emporia State University has opened his own consulting business, Hartman Energy LLC.
Bill Hartman is easing into retirement as director of building services at the university. Hartman devoted considerable time to instituting efficiencies, negotiating energy prices and finding ways to conserve energy, time and money.
The job made for a natural segue into an energy-consulting business for public and private entities that are not served by municipal energy companies.
Laws allow those entities to negotiate contracts to purchase energy at wholesale prices, rather than accept the retail charges of the energy companies around the state.
“Anyone in this area that qualifies for tariff gas, deregulated gas — that can be schools, hospitals, industries — or anyone that uses more than 3,000 units a year,” Hartman said, explaining the entities that can negotiate prices.
ESU, through Hartman’s involvement, was one of the first institutions in the state to accept bids for deregulated gas.
He named Oneok, Constellation Energy, Atlas and Seminole as the primary players in the wholesale market.
He solicits bids from those companies and others and presents them to his clients, who know they must make a quick decision on whether to accept a bid or reject them all and stay with whatever supplier they currently have.
“The whole premise of it is to secure bids for your gas demands the day that we make the commitment,” Hartman said. “... So far, everybody has taken the contract.”
The wholesale cost of gas in recent times has fluctuated far beyond the relatively steady cost of the past.
A typical bid-opening involves prices that are offered beginning at noon one day; the decision whether to accept or reject must be made quickly.
“Today, if you go out on a bid at noon ... you’re expected to get back to them by 1:30,” Hartman said, “or they rebid another day. That’s how much markets are changing.”
Hartman said that sometimes the client’s current supplier also comes in as the lowest bidder, though the unit rate is far below what the client is currently paying.
“We do think competition leads to the lowest price for that day,” he said.
Hartman has two people helping him with marketing the firm’s service to potential clients, and he spends considerable time dealing directly with the clients and the wholesalers, as he works to get the best prices on the time and the date the bids are opened.
“I can’t guarantee tomorrow, a month from today,” he said. “Today is your best price for today.”