Designing, constructing and connecting electricity networks at Data Centres

Key features of Energetics’ data centre offer include:

• allowing customers substantial discounts on the capital cost of installing electrical infrastructure, which traditional suppliers cannot provide
• specifying fixed connection costs in advance, rather than emulating the former monopolies’ practice of providing estimates, which can understate final bills by six-figure sums
• only charging for the power capacity data centres request during successive ramping periods, instead of demanding full payment at the outset for the amounts eventually required, as traditional providers do         

Significant benefits for data centres, compared to the former monopolies, in project areas include:

• feasibility studies
• programme timescales and surety
• network ownership and energy provider choice
• operations and maintenance charges
• payment terms
• sub-station location and appearance
• superior service culture

Bill McClymont, chief executive officer, Energetics, said: “We stand-out from traditional providers by having an overarching focus on the customer. This is reflected in our service – which includes guaranteed standards, attendance at design team meetings and single points-of-contact, among other features – plus a range of cost benefits, while we also offer decades of experience and a traditional supplier heritage across our business.

“Additional advantages of appointing us for data centre customers include that we offer innovative design methodologies and creative thinking in solving potential problems. At Salford’s Media City UK, we not only designed a network with two grid supply points, to satisfy the BBC’s requirement for high network resilience, but completed the project in a shorter timescale than any former monopoly would have achieved, for example.          

“We also regularly challenge supposedly non-contestable operation and maintenance costs prescribed by the relevant traditional regional electricity company, on a customer’s behalf, where we feel this appropriate. We secured savings of over £1m for a large retail development by successfully contesting the engineering design and substantial network reinforcement charges proposed, for example.”

Previous Data Centre projects include designing and building the electricity infrastructure for a 10MVA site in central Scotland.

Visit Energetics at Data Centre World, at London’s ExCel, on 26 and 27 February, at stand J15.