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Forecasting Your Energy Budget for the Year Ahead

A simple four-step method for building an energy budget that survives contact with reality — and with your accountant.

1 June 2026 6 min read

Start with volume, not price

Pull twelve months of kWh by month. Adjust for anything you know is changing — new equipment, extra opening hours, a site closing. Volume is the part of the forecast you actually control.

Layer in contracted and uncontracted periods

Apply your contracted unit rate and standing charge to the months already covered. For uncontracted months, use a conservative forward estimate rather than today's price, and flag it as an assumption.

Add non-commodity and review quarterly

Network charges and levies change annually and rarely downward. Build in a modest uplift, then revisit the forecast each quarter as actuals arrive. A forecast reviewed quarterly is a management tool; one built once a year is a guess.

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