According to Gary Ryan, sales and marketing director of Energia, 'efficiency' is a word that every business can relate to, as it lies at the root of every business strategy. But when businesses are confronted with the concept of 'energy efficiency', an eyeglazing phenomenon takes place and suddenly, the issue is relegated to low-priority status. Nevertheless, now that all electricity customers are eligible to purchase their energy from independent suppliers, thousands of business customers have already made the move.

"The primary reason for changing supplier is to reduce costs, but in many cases even greater savings can be achieved by addressing how and when energy is used, " he said. "In the current climate of increasing energy costs, many businesses are recognising the benefit of being energy efficient for the environment and on their company's bottom line. With the option to choose your energy supplier now a reality, customers should look beyond the 'price carrot' to see what level of added value services are available and indeed what mix of power can be used, including renewable energy, which can help reduce your overall energy costs."

Through a simple energy audit of premises and by introducing various low cost ways of installing materials and equipment, a decrease in energy bills can be achieved by all businesses.

"Customers who have online metering should also interrogate the data they are getting to identify process changes or better internal planning to make best use of lower cost time bands, " says Ryan.

Energia is Ireland's largest independent electricity supplier. The company is committed to providing customers with energy efficient solutions to their electricity needs and saving them up to 10% on their current bills. Energia supplies power from its major gas-fired power station in Dublin and has 20% of the business electricity market on an all island basis.

For a free walk through energy audit guide, businesses can log on to www. energia. ie. This guide gives people some quick tips on how to assess the energy efficiency of their businesses.

The Energia lo-call helpline - 1850 363744 - also offers free advice and energy savings tips, and people can also get posters and stickers which highlight energy efficiency issues in your business and to remind staff to turn off equipment when it is not in use.

Properly managing your energy and facilities is a tangible way of improving energy efficiency, which is why it is often important for companies to utilise the services of the experts.

Dalkia is one of the world's leading names in Facilities Management and Energy Management, with a global presence in 32 countries and an annual turnover in the region of 5 billion. Part of the larger Veolia group, the French company has a staff of more than 43,000, 380 of which are located in Ireland.

Dalkia in Ireland, as in the rest of the world, is committed to optimising the use of energy in order to protect our overall environment. In addition to its facilities management services, it can manage the electrical, mechanical and technical service requirements of a building, whether as part of a small flexible contract or as part of a total business solution that includes energy management and all other facilities.

"We can offer our clients a complete package, if so required, " explained Dalkia Ireland commercial director Padraig Byrne. "This could include the supply of energy, the buying of plant, and the maintaining of the equipment, providing a turnkey solution for a design/own/operate plant."

Its client base covers a wide variety of market sectors including pharmaceutical, IT, food/beverage, banking, media and healthcare, with the common denominator being the commitment to energy efficiency.

"Especially following the deregulation of the energy market, companies are looking more and more towards energy saving, " said Byrne.

"We have been working closely with SEI, helping to highlight energy saving issues to the Irish market, and the recent hike in price has made people look more closely at their energy usage."

Dalkia Ireland can not only save on energy through ensuring that plant and machinery operate at maximum efficiency, it is also committed to exploring areas of sustainable energy, such as the usage of biomass or CHP.

It is this commitment to better energy practice that allowed Dalkia to win the prize for Energy Service or Supply Company at the Sustainable Energy Awards for 2005. For further information, contact info@dalkia. ie.

But even without a complete overhaul, considerable savings are achievable. For more than 20 years Lenchem Ltd has been distributing Spectrum fuel products from Mallow, County Cork. A guaranteed Irish product, the Spectrum brand of fuel conditioning products have been tried and tested to prove their efficacy in treating the problems of fossil fuel consumption.

Spectrum products help you and your business while they help the environment, by reducing the cost of your fuel bill and giving more value from your fuel. By using Spectrum products, harmful emissions are reduced from the atmosphere, and the amount of fuel used to gain a particular amount of energy is reduced by 10% and more.

Lenchem offers two main Spectrum products. The first is Spectrum 'D', a diesel fuel combustion catalyst designed expressly for use in Diesel and Petrol engines. Used at a ratio of 1: 1000, 1 bottle of Spectrum 'D' 125ml will treat 2 fills of a fuel tank, both petrol and diesel, reducing fuel costs and helping to pass the NCT.

The second is Spectrum '1', which works in a similar way for oil central heating.

Self-mixing, Spectrum '1' attaches to Oil burning fuel more efficiently than when untreated. Used at a ratio of 1:4000, a 500ml bottle of Spectrum 1 will treat 440 gallons (2000 litres) of central heating oil, more than enough to treat 1 fill of the average central heating tank.

Heating control is another area where companies can achieve considerable energy savings, and Active Energy Control Ltd provides a channel to Irish energy distributors and energy utilisation customers for correct equipment specification and supply.

Working with its international partner, Elster-AMCO and its subsidiaries, AEC provides key solutions and technologies to Irish industry across a number of areas, including Energy Data Recording and Management, Gas Control Systems and Solutions, Gas Metering Technologies, Gas Pressure Regulation, Efficient Process Heating, as well as providing Gas Process/Utilisation Control Equipment and Gas Utilisation Safety Equipment.

The energy efficiency offered through AEC can be gauged by the scale of its partner company, especially considering that German company Elster is the world's leader in natural gas measurement and control.