Resilient baker makes more dough with the help of an Enel X solution

Massachusetts baker Signature Bread now uses a backup generator and demand response.

Ontario businesses save money through energy storage and demand response, thanks to Enel X North America, Inc. Here is how a baking company found the perfect solution — including a convenient backup generator — by trusting Enel X’ energy experts.

Lowering the electricity rate

When then-plant-manager Tony Rodriguez and his fellow workers discovered that the owners of Signature Breads in Chelsea, MA were going to pull the plug on operations, they fought back—not with picket signs, but with their checkbooks, working together to buy the company. That was 2006. Today, with Tony as President, this company supplies more than 100 varieties of baguettes, ciabatta, focaccia, and specialty sandwich and dinner rolls.

When it comes to bread, Signature Breads’ expertise is second to none. But when it comes to energy — the company’s largest operating expense — it needed help. With ovens pumping out thousands of par-baked loaves and rolls daily and freezers holding up to two weeks of finished inventory, managing the cost of electricity and ensuring 24x7x365 access to it are vital to the company. Enter Enel X.

As a first step, Enel X worked with the baker to get it into a demand-response program, helping Signature Breads shed about 25 per cent of its load during demand-response events and receive lucrative payments in return for supporting the grid. But Signature was thinking bigger. Enel X provided a 1,600-kilowatt backup generator — at no out-of-pocket cost to the baker — that enabled Signature to shed its entire load during demand-response events to maximize DR payments and engage in peak-shaving activities to lower its overall per-kilowatt-hour electricity rate.

Fernandez notes that Signature now stays environmentally responsible without sacrificing the bottom line. “With our new backup generator,” he says, “we now have a comprehensive solution in place that provides resiliency against outages, a dependable six-figure payment stream from demand response, and an easy way for us to help the grid… when demand for electricity is highest.”

To learn about how Ontario businesses are leveraging energy-storage technology, read this whitepaper from Enel X, Understanding Ontario’s Energy Storage Opportunity.

To learn more, contact Enel X.

• Tweet