Arcadia’s data-driven energy procurement: Transparency in an opaque market

In Part 1 of our conversation with Rohit Marwaha, Arcadia's Vice President of Energy Supply Solutions, we explored how fundamental shifts in energy markets are creating new challenges for enterprise procurement. Skyrocketing demand, complicated supply dynamics, and increasing price volatility have transformed energy procurement from a routine purchasing function into a strategic business imperative.

As Rohit noted, traditional procurement methods that worked in yesterday's stable markets are increasingly inadequate for today's complex energy landscape. But what specific steps can enterprises take to adapt to this new reality?

In this second part of our Q&A, we explore how Arcadia's data-driven approach helps businesses gain the transparency, control, and strategic flexibility needed to navigate volatile energy markets. From comprehensive cost analysis to flexible execution strategies, Rohit shares practical insights on transforming procurement from a reactive necessity into a strategic advantage.

How should enterprises begin transforming their procurement approach?

The foundation of any effective procurement strategy is comprehensive data analysis. Retail energy supply is a complicated product that includes the costs of expected hourly consumption, the variability of that consumption, maintaining transmission infrastructure, ensuring adequate generation is available, and ensuring that energy is available at every instant you need it. When you understand each of these components, you'll be best equipped to manage one of your most fundamental operating expenses.

This cost transparency allows you to quickly discern how much margin any retailer embeds in their offer and gives you tools to manage your energy budget more effectively. For instance, energy can be hedged through market products provided by our partners or other wholesale trading entities, while capacity and transmission costs can be managed by using distributed energy resources or curtailing consumption during the right handful of hours each year.

With the right data and forecasting tools, you can strategically purchase energy at market prices that align with your budget or curtail consumption to reduce future capacity and transmission costs. This data-driven approach creates both immediate and long-term value. In the short term, you gain transparency into your current costs and contract structures. Over time, you develop the market intelligence needed to make strategic decisions about purchasing energy in a way that aligns with your business objectives and risk tolerance.

How does Arcadia support enterprises with strategic energy procurement?

Our key differentiator is data-driven analytics that provides true transparency, empowering customers to more intentionally manage their energy budgets. Traditional brokers typically conduct RFPs for retail energy supply only months before the end of contracts, which leaves no opportunity to wait for more opportune market timing or consider various energy procurement and hedging strategies to best manage energy budgets.

We leverage our comprehensive utility data platform to capture detailed energy consumption information. Other advisors often struggle to obtain this data, and even if they do, they typically lack the tools and expertise to transform it into actionable insights. At Arcadia, we take this data and create sophisticated analytics in collaboration with our partner Scoville Risk Partners to provide daily updates and component details—information typically available only to retail energy suppliers.

Energy commodities are among the most volatile markets in the U.S., and with energy demand growing faster than new supply, this volatility will only increase. In such dynamic conditions, timing becomes critical—daily market intelligence gives you the information you need to make strategic decisions rather than hoping your contract renewal aligns with favorable market conditions.

Getting the data is only half the battle—you need timely market access to convert insights into action. Our partners at Axpo U.S. can provide market hedges in volumes and at times aligned with your budget objectives, giving your business the same execution capabilities that retail energy suppliers use to manage their positions.

Ready to explore how data-driven energy procurement can benefit your business? Contact Arcadia today to learn more about our Energy Procurement Advisory solution.

How does Arcadia enhance your existing energy procurement ecosystem?

Our approach is designed to complement what you're already doing. A traditional broker or consultant will typically go to the marketplace, get quotes from retailers for various products, and present those options with terms and conditions for you to make a reasonably educated decision.

We provide daily market information well before your RFP is submitted, helping you determine the optimal timing to request quotes from the market. Beyond when to act, our detailed cost component analysis helps you determine what product structure to include in your RFP. Finally, once quotes come in, understanding what represents actual costs versus margin gives you and your advisor negotiating power with retailers.

This approach doesn't require replacing your existing relationships. While we can certainly manage the entire procurement process if needed, our most valuable contribution is the cost transparency, market intelligence, and execution capabilities that give you unprecedented control over your energy decisions—elements that traditional procurement approaches typically lack.

Responding to market realities

Energy procurement has evolved from a routine purchasing function into a strategic imperative. As market volatility increases and supply-demand dynamics shift, businesses need better tools to navigate this complexity. The traditional opacity of energy markets no longer serves enterprise interests.

Arcadia's approach brings together comprehensive utility data expertise, sophisticated cost analytics, and direct market execution capabilities—all enhanced by our strategic partnerships. This powerful combination delivers the transparency and control enterprises need to make informed procurement decisions aligned with their business objectives.

Whether you're looking to optimize your existing procurement process or completely transform your approach to energy management, Arcadia can help your business gain a competitive advantage in today's dynamic energy landscape.