Before the days of energy-company deregulation, there were more than 300 energy suppliers to California. Now there are three, if that. Diana Hines, president of Coleman Hines, a Scottsdale, Ariz.-based energy information, products and services company and client of Leading Edge firm Henry & Horne PLC, says she learned the nuances of energy deregulation while serving national commercial accounts at New West Energy. Now she and partner Gina Coleman, formerly an energy manager for PETsMART, apply them to their own company.

Hines and Coleman bring together a unique set of skills—Hines knew the vendor/supplier side of energy and Coleman the retail customer side. Their whole premise for starting the business in 2000: "energy management is a good thing."

Deregulation has afforded the opportunity to create a strategic energy plan, particularly for multi-site commercial users. "Everyone who is touched by electricity understands how it affects the bottom line," says Hines.

During the days before deregulation, Hines says she competed against the likes of former energy giants such as Enron. But once the energy market, particularly out West, began to fizzle, she and Coleman realized they needed to diversify their pricing models in order to stay competitive.

"We decided to focus on subscription services, something we could build once then sell repeatedly," she says. Utility Snapshot Subscription Services—Nationwide Energy Rate Changes, Nationwide Rebates and Incentives and Commodity Market Overviews—allow Coleman Hines to service multi-site users including banks, restaurants, hotels and retailers, with information that can save them money on energy.

"Commodity acquisition allows us to work on a client's behalf to bring them commodity pricing. For example, we have a retail client in Illinois that needs to find the best energy pricing. We solicit bids (pricing) from the energy suppliers in Illinois and bring the results to the client. We act as their energy manager and perform due diligence, but we don't take title to power. It's up to the client to make the decision based on the information we've provided," she says.

The energy market is volatile and that makes it difficult for budgeting and forecasting for those costs, particularly when an organization (retail store or hotel) is in multiple states and energy markets.

"We have someone full-time who queries and canvases all the utility companies, using their Web sites, public utility commissions and sources he's established. We're able to report when rate increases may occur, what increases are proposed and what increases are confirmed."

The firm has also learned the value of rumor. Originally it only posted confirmed rate increases, but now it has categories for emerging, proposed, approved and denied increases. "With 600 companies listed across the country, you can have changes overnight ranging from a 22 percent increase to a 15 percent decrease," she says.

Electricity is the third- or fourth-largest variable expense for a multi-site organization, according to Hines. "A large anchor retail store will spend about $1 million per month on electricity. Now imagine the impact of an 8 percent rate increase on that budget," she says.

The cost just went up $80,000 per month.

"When profit margins are skinny, information is the key to managing and people are looking for tools to help with that process," says Hines.

Coleman Hines connects clients to more useful tools through its Nationwide Rebates and Incentives subscription service. A vast database that can be searched by state, utility company, rebate program or equipment, it allows customers to find which companies are offering which rebates for such things as HVAC change outs, lighting retrofits, green power or energy reduction.

"It's very user friendly and can be downloaded into an Excel spreadsheet so that you can use this information to track costs over a certain period," she says. And the information compiled, both on pricing and rebates, can also be used to document why a specific energy provider was chosen.

Hines says her company came along at just the right time. Both the retail market and energy market are experiencing bumps in the economic road. "Because there's so much chaos, we've had the opportunity to show the value of Coleman Hines. We do the time-intensive research and give customers the results."

She says that the ability to deliver the quality service comes from the expertise on staff. Of the eight employees in this female business enterprise, only two do not come from the utility industry. "Our employees understand what our customers are up against and I think we've found a way to deliver the tools they need." e

For more information, visit www.colemanhines.com.

Henry & Horne is currently working with Coleman Hines on income tax planning and preparation, benefit stock option plan review, and a R&D tax credit study.