Whether you run a small, midsize or large business, time, money and resources are precious. One of the last things a business leader or manager of any business wants to do is spend countless hours trying to decode a confusing utility bill or strategize how to save money moving forward. Knowing this, Salt River Project (SRP), assigns local Arizona businesses with a dedicated Strategic Energy Manager (SEM). Not only can SEMs help navigate utility bills and plans line-by-line, but they are also advocates for your business, providing guidance on how to improve energy efficiency, optimize utility plans and even qualify for rebates. 

LEARN MORE: SRP MyAccount helps businesses save valuable time and money

Question: How does my business get in touch with an SEM?

Answer: “The best way for an SRP business customer to connect with their assigned SEM is to look at their most recent energy bill,” says Yolanda France, manager of midsize business account management at SRP. “The name, email address and phone number of the SEM is located on the top left-hand corner.”

Adds Gene Gerhart, business customer manager at SRP, “Another way to contact your SEM is to call the Business Customer Center — they can direct a customer to their SEM. The Business Customer Center number is (602) 236-8833 and is open Monday-Friday from 7 a.m.-5 p.m.”

Question: How do SEMs help companies save valuable time and money? 

Answer: Think of an SEM as an expert Rubik’s Cube solver. Rather than assigning a business team member the arduous task of lining up the correct “formula” to save time and money, an SEM can quickly and accurately align all the sections of a business SRP account to accomplish these tasks (and more) for you.

“SRP business customers don’t have to call multiple departments to resolve an issue or have their questions answered,” Gerhart explains. “Their SEM uses their expansive internal network, does the legwork for them and provides answers.”

Additionally, SEMs are trained to search every nook and cranny of a utility bill/plan to ensure businesses are maximizing energy efficiency and pricing.

“An SEM can review a customer’s usage, perform an analysis and see if they are on the best price plan,” France says.  

Question: What is one of the biggest frustrations you’ve helped a client navigate as an SEM? 

Answer: “There are times customers may have unexpected outages or frustrations with processes having to do with billing, new service requests or equipment maintenance,” France says. “Our SEMs are knowledgeable and have an expansive network within SRP to resolve their frustration.”

Gerhart recalls a particularly challenging time for Arizona businesses, in which having an SEM made all the difference for SRP business customers.   

“The pandemic was a very difficult time for all business customers but specifically for the smaller businesses,” he says. “During the toughest times, SRP’s SEMs were able to provide customers with a variety of resources to help them make their electric payments and keep their business afloat.”

Question: How do energy efficiency rebate programs work at SRP, and how does collaborating with an SEM make the process run smoothly? 

Answer: An exciting — but perhaps not widely known — way SEMs help local businesses save money is by educating them about how to take advantage of rebates. 

“There are numerous rebates including (but not limited to) those for EV chargers, lighting retrofits, HVAC, new building and custom rebates,” France says, further explaining that customers can also go to savewithsrpbiz.com to see what rebates they may qualify for and then contact their SEM for additional assistance. 

If you are a new customer interested in learning more about SEMs and additional SRP services, please contact SRP any time at (602) 236-8833.