Energy and utility management for manufacturing

Energy is one of the few manufacturing costs that changes with every shift, tariff, and season. Nectar collects and validates electricity, natural gas, water, and waste bills for every plant, tracks energy per unit of production, and finds savings in demand charges, tariffs, supply contracts, and tax exemptions.

Modern factory floor with production lines

For most manufacturers, electricity and natural gas are among the largest controllable operating costs after labor and materials. A plant's bill depends on when equipment runs, how sharply load peaks at start-up, which rate schedule each meter is on, and whether process gas is bought on a contract or at the utility's default rate. Across plants in different utility territories, each with its own tariffs and bill formats, those details are hard to see and harder to manage.

Nectar gives plant, energy, and corporate teams one validated data set: every bill parsed at the line-item level, demand and interval data where the utility provides it, and energy use measured against production volume instead of square footage.

Challenge

Energy cost per unit of output is calculated by hand, if at all.

Solution

Custom variables store monthly production volume for each plant, so energy intensity is tracked per unit, ton, or case instead of per square foot, and plants are compared on the measure that matters.

Challenge

Demand charges from start-ups and shift changes show up a month later.

Solution

Interval data, where available, is reconciled with billed demand so teams see which hours set the peak. Demand-charge alerts go out by email or webhook, and peak shaving, load shifting, and storage are modeled against actual load.

Challenge

Tax exemptions on energy used in production go unclaimed.

Solution

Many states exempt electricity and fuel used in manufacturing from sales tax. Nectar checks each account's tax treatment against its site and use, files for refunds where a site qualifies, and corrects the exemption going forward.

One data set for every plant and commodity

Electricity, natural gas, water, sewer, steam, fuel, and waste accounts are collected from 7,000+ utilities and parsed into one schema, whatever the utility or country. Supply, delivery, demand, taxes, and fees are separated on every bill, and portfolio totals across countries are reported in one display currency.

Plants with separate supplier and utility bills keep both, grouped so usage is counted once. Every value links back to the bill it came from, so a cost review or an auditor can check any figure.

Aerial view of an industrial plant with substations

Cost savings before new equipment

Once 12 months of data are in, every electric and gas account is reviewed against the rate schedules it qualifies for. Supply contracts in deregulated markets are benchmarked and tracked at least 180 days ahead of renewal, with competing offers sourced through licensed partners. A historical bill audit reviews up to 36 months of past bills for errors, refunds, and missed exemptions.

When equipment projects make sense, such as LED lighting, HVAC and controls, solar, or storage, Nectar identifies the plants with the most opportunity, applies for utility rebates and incentives with your approval, and measures results against a weather-normalized baseline.

Electrical switchgear in an empty plant room

Why manufacturing teams choose Nectar

Nectar benchmarks dashboard — platform dashboard screenshot

Data

Line-item data at 99.2% accuracy across electricity, gas, water, steam, and waste, with production-based intensity and an audit trail from every figure to its source bill.

Automation

Bills collected and validated as soon as they are issued, anomalies and demand spikes flagged automatically, and clean data pushed to your ERP and carbon accounting platform.

Service

A named customer success manager, human review of flagged bills, and a team that submits rate changes, files tax refunds, and coordinates procurement partners with your approval.

What changes for manufacturing teams

Energy intensity per unit of output

Before Nectar, plants were compared on total cost or cost per square foot. After, energy and cost per unit produced are tracked monthly for every plant.

→ Benchmarks

Demand charges under control

Before Nectar, peaks were noticed on the next bill. After, interval data and demand-charge alerts show which hours and operations set each peak.

→ Demand management

Exemptions and overcharges recovered

Before Nectar, sales tax and billing errors on past bills stayed with the utility. After, up to 36 months of bills are reviewed and every recovery is documented.

→ Historical bill audit

Scope 1 and 2 data ready for reporting

Before Nectar, sustainability teams chased plant managers for bills each year. After, consumption data flows to your carbon accounting platform with an audit trail.

→ Carbon accounting integrations

Frequently asked questions

Can Nectar track energy per unit of production?

Yes. Custom variables store monthly production volume, or any other output measure, for each site. Energy intensity is then reported per unit of output instead of per square foot in analytics, dashboards, and exports.

Does Nectar support plants outside the United States?

Yes. Bill collection and parsing are global, and totals across countries are converted to one display currency using monthly exchange rates. EU-hosted customers can keep data and files in the EU. Bill pay covers US utility accounts only.

Does Nectar install meters or controls at our plants?

No. Nectar does not sell metering hardware or building controls. It uses the bills and interval data utilities already provide and works alongside your existing energy monitoring systems.

One platform for every utility decision

Utility bill management, energy cost management and procurement, and sustainability reporting in one system, shared by energy, finance, operations, and sustainability teams.

Nectar utility bill management — utility data management feature

Utility bill management

Every bill for every utility, waste, and telecom account collected, parsed at the line-item level, and tracked against its expected date.

Automated bill collectionData completenessAudit trailAI agent and smart reports
Nectar sustainability reporting and benchmarks — utility data management feature

Sustainability reporting and benchmarks

Audit-ready data for ESG reporting, site benchmarks, ENERGY STAR sync, and exports to carbon accounting platforms.

BenchmarksENERGY STAR Portfolio ManagerESG and carbon integrationsWaste and recycling
Nectar bill audit, bill pay, and ap — utility data management feature

Bill audit, bill pay, and AP

Errors caught before payment, past overcharges recovered, and validated bills paid on time or delivered to your AP system.

Utility bill auditsHistorical bill auditUtility bill paymentsAP and ERP integration
Nectar energy cost management and procurement — utility data management feature

Energy cost management and procurement

Tariff and rate optimization, demand management, and procurement advisory. Customers typically save 3 to 5% of annual utility spend.

Tariff and rate optimizationDemand managementProcurement advisoryBudgeting and forecasts

Loved by customers in every industry

Customer Stories
Featured

How Thomas Foods automated more than 90% of its utility data collection

Thomas Foods International uses Nectar to collect and organize utility data across its US facilities, replacing manual bill downloads and spreadsheet entry.

“Using Nectar has significantly streamlined the process of gathering and analyzing our utility data. The platform just works!”
Jonathan R., Sustainability Director at Thomas Foods Int., USA — Nectar customer

Jonathan R.

Sustainability Director, Thomas Foods Int., USA

Read the case studyFeatured

Stanwich Energy Boosts Client Value with Nectar's Utility Data Solution

Stanwich Energy announces a new partnership with Nectar to enhance the customer experience through advanced, AI-powered utility data services.

“Partnering with Nectar's AI-driven platform has been groundbreaking, allowing us to tackle changes faster and skip the outdated, painful integration required by other solutions. Having the right information is the first step, and Nectar is exactly what we have been looking for to make that happen.”
Matt Shaw, Managing Director at Stanwich Energy — Nectar customer

Matt Shaw

Managing Director, Stanwich Energy

Read the case study
Jeremy Pike, Sustainability Leader at Idaho Milk Products — Nectar customer

Jeremy Pike

Sustainability Leader, Idaho Milk Products

“Thanks to Nectar's innovative solution, we can accurately assess our environmental impact, becoming a pioneer in sustainability among our peers.”

John O'Connell, CEO and Founder at Stanwich Energy — Nectar customer

John O'Connell

CEO and Founder, Stanwich Energy

“Nectar enables faster insights, smarter forecasting, and more accurate budget tracking. It also strengthens our ability to deliver on key sustainability goals by providing real-time visibility into usage and emissions.”

Matt Greening, Founder and Director at Nettzero — Nectar customer

Matt Greening

Founder and Director, Nettzero

“Nectar serves as a reliable and cost-effective technology solution to extract, store, and analyse sustainability data leading to enhanced reporting capabilities and streamlined workflows.”

Ready to get started with Nectar?

Try your utility bill on our live demo or get in touch

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Learn more about Nectar

How hard can data collection get? What has worked for companies? We've got it all covered.

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How Nectar parses granular utility cost data — Nectar blog

How Nectar parses granular utility cost data

How Nectar separates supply, delivery, and demand charges on every bill, so energy and finance teams can see exactly what drives utility spend.

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Carbon accounting requires accurate utility data collection — Nectar blog

Carbon accounting requires accurate utility data collection

Carbon accounting has 3 steps: data collection, emissions calculation, and data reporting. Error rates of 10% in data collection compound into worse error in the CDP report. Garbage in, garbage out.

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Nectar is an AI-native utility bill management platform for commercial and industrial organizations, with 99.2% line-item parsing accuracy, coverage of 7,000+ utility providers, and automated data collection.

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Data Completeness ViewAutomated Data CollectionCarbon Accounting IntegrationsAudit TrailTariff and Rate OptimizationsLate Penalties and Tax TrackingUtility Bill PaymentsUtility Bill AuditsBudgeting and ForecastsBenchmarks and AuditsEnergyStar IntegrationDemand ManagementHistorical Bill AuditProcurement AdvisoryProjects, Rebates, and Grid ProgramsWaste and RecyclingUtility Account Open and CloseAP and ERP IntegrationAI Agent and Smart Reports