"Data gives us the opportunity to make a tangible difference to every client we work with"
E&C CEO Benedicts De Meulemeester analyses in a recent interview the challenge of being at the crossroads of two mega trends: the energy transition and digitalisation, and why managing data is key to succed in both processes.
Benedict De Meulemeester during his intervention in the latest Global Energy Conference which focused, precisely, on the impact of energy data management in thegeneral business strategy of large companies (Aleksandra Dynaś)
[Editor note: this interview was originally conducted by Pamela Large and published on Enlit]
19/06/2025. Benedict De Meulemeester, founder and CEO of energy procurement consultancy E&C Consultants, calls on industries to gain control of and capitalise on data to decrease energy costs.
For industrial companies, good performance on energy procurement is critical to maintaining competitiveness and can be achieved through effective data management and control.
Nowadays, controlling and managing data is critical, but also more challenging than it’s ever been, especially as large energy users invest in generation and storage and sign power purchase agreements.
According to De Meulemeester, some organisations are behind the curve in terms of collecting, managing and using data to manage spend on energy and it could prove costly to their bottom lines.
Firstly, he recommends a mindset shift. “I have always had this theory that the majority of people need to run into the wall before they adapt their behaviour. But, then you have some people that even before they’ve reached the wall, they realise, OK, I’m going to run into this wall. I need to adapt my behaviour here.”
Increasingly, industries are coming to terms with the fact that this wall exists, and the behaviour that needs to change in terms of how data is managed will ultimately provide invaluable insights in energy procurement and management.
The impact of mega trends
De Meulemeester described the impact of being at the crossroads of two mega trends, the energy transition and digitalisation.
Being at this crossroads means industries are asking more questions about net consumption, spend and carbon emissions. However, it also means industries are being confronted with the fact that data doesn’t simply answer questions or answer them quickly.
“It’s an illusion that the big IT companies are selling everyone, the illusion that data can answer anything you want to know, as soon as you want it.”
“But after six years of investing time and money in building our ePoint data platform, we realise it’s not that easy. It’s easier to pull data sets together, but it’s not easy to draw meaningful and logical conclusions from it.”
“Five years ago, corporates and most end consumers thought that the energy transition would actually make energy portfolio management and energy procurement more simple. They thought if we signed a PPA at a fixed price, we’re no longer exposed to markets etc.”
The opposite is true, stated De Meulemeester. Now, organisations are much more exposed to volatile spot markets and diversified supply sources, which is creating even more complexity.
The complexity of determining energy spend
De Meulemeester unpacked how this complexity can impact spend on energy.
Energy procurement is extremely data intensive, he said, with up to 36,000 data points needed to measure how much energy has been consumed.
“If your CFO is asking you how much you spent on energy last month at a plant, that used to be a very easy question to answer. You would just look up your single bill from your supplier and you could tell this is what we spent last month.”
Now, it’s not that simple. Now, said De Meulemeester, to get the same answer, you need to get the bill from the three or four PPAs you have signed, and you need to agree with your CFO on the allocation rules for those megawatt hours.
You also need to have insight into your investment on rooftop solar and on-site batteries that you made or cash outs on complex financial instruments thrown into the mix.
“It’s very complex and clients just don’t have any idea anymore of how much they pay for energy, let alone make an accurate budget on it.” Which is why getting control of the data is so important.
Controlling the data
It’s important to reflect on what the real fundamental risk is that a company is exposed to, said De Meulemeester, and then understanding how to mitigate that risk.
Data allows this to be translated into a set of goals and align those goals with procurement activity and load management.
It doesn’t happen overnight, stated De Meulemeester, it’s a transition. But there is a sense of urgency now more than ever.
“Whatever you do, whatever type of contract you negotiate, whatever investment you make… If you don’t have control over the data, you risk making money with your left hand that you’re spending with your right hand.”
It’s this complexity of the energy procurement landscape that drives De Meulemeester and his team and makes this work intellectually stimulating.
“You can really see how you’re making a change through better control of data. Data gives us the opportunity to make a tangible difference to every client we work with. And the energy transition is probably going be the biggest mega trend that we will experience in our lives – the complete transition of something which is fundamental to human life, our energy system.”
