Challenge

With more than nine decades of reliable customer service throughout Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Ohio, Shipley Energy’s DNA is built on an entrepreneurial and progressive foundation. With a rapidly growing book of business, increased financial risk, and changing weather patterns, accurate load forecasting quickly became mission critical. While Shipley previously contracted with a different provider for eight years, the electricity team sought a new forecasting vendor that could deliver on their top priority, accuracy.

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Solution

Amperon’s portfolio demand short-term forecast provides Shipley Energy with the load forecasting accuracy and data accessibility needed to implement more sophisticated load risk management strategies. The 15-day load forecast, updated hourly, offers Shipley insights into their day-ahead procurement strategy and a deeper understanding of their customers. The combination of Amperon’s API and visual user interface enables Shipley to make the forecasting data actionable for daily business operations and weekly leadership reporting.

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Benefits

Shipley Energy’s long tradition of dependable service in energy delivery has expanded from petrochemicals into electricity in recent decades. Amperon’s electricity forecasting capabilities have enabled Shipley to grow its electricity business confidently, knowing it has accurate and reliable insights into its portfolio’s load and can manage load risk during uncertain market and weather patterns. This has enabled Shipley to continue supporting its customers with all their energy needs.

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Shipley Energy’s Customer Story

Shipley Energy has been a reliable energy provider since 1929. Over the years, the company has evolved from supplying coal to delivering heating oil, propane, diesel, gasoline, as well as deregulated electricity and natural gas and energy consulting services. Throughout its growth, Shipley Energy has remained committed to customer satisfaction, delivering reliable and affordable energy solutions, and upholding a strong commitment to sustainability. To profitably serve their book of residential and commercial electricity meters in PJM and MISO, Shipley needed an accurate and reliable electricity load forecasting provider. The electricity supply team previously worked with a longstanding vendor for eight years. Chris Smith, General Manager of Electricity at Shipley Energy, shared, “While we weren’t dissatisfied with the services, a trial with Amperon quickly showed that Amperon’s forecasting solution stood out head and shoulders above what we were getting.” As Shipley’s portfolio grew and their financial risk increased, they knew an industry-leading forecasting provider was essential to profitably expanding their electricity operations and managing load risk.

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Amperon’s Impact

Amperon began working with Shipley in the spring of 2023 and has onboarded tens of thousands of meters, providing hourly load and settlement updates. Smith reflected on the transition to Amperon and shared “Forecasting accuracy is table stakes, but the actionable nature of the forecasting data we could access via Amperon’s API and user interface improved our daily operations and executive reporting.” With multiple ways to access and analyze the forecasting data, Smith’s team can tailor the data output for different use cases and audiences. Michael Hershey, Manager of Electricity Supply, said “The API was the big thing for me.” Hershey leverages Amperon’s developer-friendly API to Shipley’s internal Python scripts, enabling him to avoid cumbersome manual Excel exports and leverage more modern data analysis solutions. Smith, on the other hand, frequently pulls visuals directly from Amperon’s user interface to share in weekly executive risk and financial reports.

Ultimately, Amperon’s strong record of accurate forecasting has given the Shipley team confidence in its decision-making process. “By leveraging Amperon’s weather scenarios and analyzing forecast results, we can now make better decisions around risk. Amperon’s data has enabled analysis that would have taken us over a year to implement,” says Hershey. As electrification expands, Shipley Energy is well-positioned to grow its long-standing brand of delivering reliable and affordable energy services. “Amperon has enabled us to improve the sophistication of our position reports and gain deeper understanding of our customers,” said Smith. “Amperon enables us to grow with eyes wide open and serve our customers intimately by knowing exactly what our position is and how we’re serving them.”