Meeting big energy needs through bespoke design and data

Mann, one of MTA’s founders, says established energy retailers had rigid structures and didn’t cater for these clients. “We quickly realised that the only way to offer them a holistic service was to become an energy retailer ourselves,” he says. MTA Energy offers customers bespoke one-stop energy provision, management and data analysis.

“We provide the best possible customised solution for each company, depending on how low carbon or percentage of renewable energy they want in their mix,” says co-founder Groombridge. “We can also advise on the correct size of distributed energy resources like solar panels or batteries according to a customer’s site load or other renewables.”

Making the energy mix work for big consumers

MTA Energy passes cost savings directly onto customers. By swapping from fixed electricity prices to floating wholesale prices clients receive a 10 to 30 per cent cost saving annually.

Rapidly increasing renewable generation in Australia is driving down the electricity market spot prices. Renewables contributed 39.4 per cent in 2023 while fossil fuels accounted for the remaining 61.6 per cent, according to the Clean Energy Council.

Renewable generation has risen 9.7 per cent in a single year and more than doubled since 2017. The price has now also recovered from the October 2022 energy crisis prompted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Using smart meters that communicate with the internet at each location, MTA Energy enables clients to reduce their own usage when the energy spot price is too high. The client also receives its own bespoke dashboard to keep track of their usage.

“MTA Energy can provide personalised solutions because their customers are big enough to have customised protocols,” says George. “You can’t do this in the residential market because you’ve got too many people and too much to manage with individualised behaviour.”

From the first days of the company, Groombridge and Mann ensured that MTA Energy put all its systems in the cloud. To save on costs, they developed most of their own software and systems rather than buy them from a third party.

“This has enabled us to leverage the rapid evolution of technology,” Mann says. “We are not wedded to any legacy systems. We can move very quickly and design tools that are highly specific to our customers’ needs, and leverage new IT tools to minimise overheads.”

Using data to drive efficiency, save money

They also use machine learning tools and artificial intelligence extensively. “This really helps us keep our employee costs down and improves our productivity,” he says. “What was traditionally a manual or semi-automated task doesn’t exist in our organisation. No one has to do mundane tasks.”

MTA Energy has grown organically as it wins more customers, developing bespoke solutions for each new client, and through a collaboration with the University of Sydney attracts the brightest data analytics graduates to join. The company now has eight employees.

And does the company have plans to move into the household sector? “No. We really like the B2B sector,” Mann says. “We can get our arms around B2B much easier. We can deliver real change much more rapidly than we ever could at the household level and offer much more significant portfolio management savings.”

The prospects for MTA Energy’s future growth look positive if they stick to their business model, says George. Especially when the next significant market disruption event occurs, MTA Energy will be well-positioned to take advantage of it.

To learn more, visit mtaenergy.com/