Director Briefing: Become Energy Efficient with Aussie NRG – Max Haas, Founder of Aussie NRG
Eden Exchange recently interviewed Max Haas, the founder of Aussie NRG. In this Director Briefing, Max discusses his journey creating Aussie NRG, their point of difference in the market and how they work with digital solutions to be one step ahead, providing their clients the best possible service and price.
Eden Exchange: Hello Max, and thank you for speaking with us today. Firstly, what was your professional background and experience before founding Aussie NRG?
Max Haas: I initially entered into the energy market in Europe, and have now been in Australia for about 12 years. Prior to Aussie NRG I was consulting for several large corporations overseeing their energy and helping the mitigate their energy costs. This is when I noticed a gap in the market, and that most businesses trying to tackle these problems themselves encountered a lot of issues and wasted time. And so I decided to make Aussie NRG to help all the companies that previously couldn’t afford this service.
Eden Exchange: What does Aussie NRG do? What is your vision for the company?
Max Haas: Aussie NRG focuses on reducing energy costs by focusing on three points:
- How to reduce the price of kWh used on site by reviewing each line of costs on a bill. Most consultants or brokers only look at the price of peak, off-peak and shoulder when the case may be representing about 40-50% of the bill, but ignore the renewable charges, metering charges and type of tariff. Almost every line of cost on a large market bill can be reviewed.
- How to reduce the quantity of energy used on site by looking at the amount of energy wasted, motors and equipment types, fridges, cool rooms, type of aircon, temperature control, TV screens used on site and site behavior modification.
- Ensuring that both these reductions in prices and quantity of kWh are checked daily. Our patented programs get fed everyday with the usage of the site by the meter, and we update any increase or decrease in the business’ usage as well as the percentage of wastage.
Our vision is to be an integrated team with the business and help validate a strategy to ensure each stage of that strategy is executed, maintained and continuously reviewed.
Eden Exchange: How does Aussie NRG set itself apart from other energy consultants on the market?
Max Haas: The way we operate is one of the many aspects that set us apart. The whole team at Aussie NRG prides ourselves on putting our clients needs first, and this is something that is not done very much these days.
How we operate with each client is different as our services are tailored to what their needs are. We want all our clients to view us as part of their team, not as a separate entity. We stand by their side and work with them to make sure that we can give them the options available for their company.
Aussie NRG provides a holistic all-encompassing energy management solution from A to Z.
Eden Exchange: What is the company’s primary focus? Large corporations, small businesses, domestic homes etc.?
Max Haas: Our primary focus is businesses ranging from small businesses to large corporations. We are a B2B focused company, with some consumer offers related to employee’s benefits.
Eden Exchange: Aussie NRG operates in partnership with associations – what does this mean and why is this important to your business model?
Max Haas: Our partnership with associations allows Aussie NRG to provide a consistent high level of service to their members, having witnessed first-hand the impact of the power price increase. Some association members have seen their energy costs go from being the fourth or fifth highest cost in their budget, to now the second or highest one- in some cases higher than their wages.
Due to the complexity of the energy market we assist, the association through our integrated services on all energy matters including rules and regulations, mitigating costs and, in cases of early termination fees, disputes and negotiating payment plans for the members. Aussie NRG can assist and help with the association’s members with all things energy-related. We focus on our core business, which is managing all energy-related matters to help members focus on their core business.
Eden Exchange: What the next key milestones for the business? Where do you see your business in three months as well as a year from now?
Max Haas: We all know the saying ‘knowledge is power’, and with the cost of energy continually going up and the current state of our energy market, our key milestone is to have as many businesses aware of their usage by having them subscribe to our alert system. The system is designed to make them aware of any electricity usage increase to avoid a shock when receiving the bill at the end of the month.
More importantly the alert system acts as a diagnosis to help our clients better understand when an issue has occurred so as to determine the nature of the issue and to apply the right remedy to resolve the issue.
Eden Exchange: Where do you foresee the greatest demand?
Max Haas: Network costs are set to increase, resulting in more energy increases. As more renewables are being implemented and coal power stations close down, the network costs will increase on top of the rising cost of electricity. We believe there will be a surge in demand for energy management and monitoring tools that help businesses better understand its energy usage, such as our alert systems. Businesses are now becoming more attentive and focused on how to better their usage and reduce cost and this constant update helps our clients to be kept informed and to act accordingly.
Eden Exchange: Can you tell us a bit more about some key achievements and challenges the company has encountered so far? Do you see any potential future challenges?
Max Haas: As for key achievements, there have been many. The latest is our involvement with COSBOA, to help many businesses reduce the cost of energy they pay by implementing, following through and reviewing the strategies we put in place – strategies with a goal for both quick victories and long-term success.
Potential challenges change all the time due to many factors, such as the political climate of the day, international commitments, the implementation of new rules and regulations, closure of power stations and how many large-scale renewable projects are implemented and commissioned prior to these closures.
Eden Exchange: What’s the best thing about your job? What drives you to do what you do?
Max Haas: We all know how stressful dealing with the energy companies can be. What drives me is removing the stress from our clients so we can make sure their energy is looked after properly. Especially when the results speak for themselves and our clients trust us to look after their energy management needs based on what we do and not what we say.
Eden Exchange: Finally, is there anything you wish to say to anyone interested in knowing more about Aussie NRG?
Max Haas: We look after any sized company. We are here to help businesses and investigate any possible way to reduce your costs. Our services are obligation-free and it costs you nothing to see if we can help you. So, if you are a business and would like help with your energy costs, contact us today. You have nothing to lose, only to gain!
Eden Exchange: Thank you for your time Max, it has been a pleasure.
Aussie NRG
Highly experienced. Always for you. Aussie NRG is a 100% Australian owned energy consulting firm, providing services across a range of industries. The core of the company’s success is based upon the pluralistic services it can provide to Australian businesses, and operating exclusively for this market. Aussie NRG strives to meet the energy needs of businesses across Australia. We are a part of a group of companies which specialize in managing energy usage across an extensive range of services. These companies include an energy brokering company which employs the reverse bidding process, and an electricity metering data company which specialise in data analysis and also a sustainable solutions provider for all your renewable needs. At Aussie NRG we build relationships that hold openness and transparence with our clients., we pride ourselves on our ability to clearly communicate with our clients, and ensure that their energy needs are being met to the highest of standards. Our group of businesses ensures that our clients’ needs are being met for major aspects of the energy market.
