Industrial energy efficiency has never been more critical for the industry. Costs are rising, subsidies are plentiful, and environmental pressure is mounting.
The same pattern keeps repeating itself across the market. A factory requests an energy efficiency audit. It receives its improvement plans. Then it considers having the work done elsewhere. This temptation is understandable. However, it is based on a fundamental misunderstanding.
This article explains, step by step, why our model is a game-changer.
A common scenario in the market
Step 1: The Flash Audit Leads the Way
It all starts with our Flash Audit, a free industrial energy audit conducted throughout Quebec. Our experts spend a day at your site, assessing your infrastructure and equipment.
They identify areas of excessive energy consumption and energy losses. Then they focus on priority opportunities specific to your industry (quick wins).
Step 2: The progress plan becomes your roadmap
About two weeks later, you’ll receive your progress plans via MyPortal3E. Executive-style format, actionable content—nothing superfluous.
Each recommendation includes the estimated return on investment and available grants. You’ll then have a clear roadmap.
Step 3: The temptation to go elsewhere to pursue your goals
With the plan in hand, many clients view it as a set of specifications. The idea seems logical: to include these recommendations in a request for proposals.
Or to replace a recommended piece of equipment with another that has already been bid on elsewhere. It is precisely this process that is driving the market today.
Here’s why our approach is different. And why it protects your investment first and foremost.
Engineering Firm or ESCO: What’s the Difference for Your Project?
That’s the starting point for the whole discussion. That’s often where the confusion comes from.
An engineering consulting firm sells a commitment to resources. It produces a study, submits its recommendations, and then leaves the implementation up to you. The performance risk remains your responsibility.
Soteck Clauger is not an engineering firm. We are an energy-efficiency services company (ESCO, or ESE in French). That subtle difference makes all the difference.
We sell a performance guarantee. We design, build, and then contractually guarantee energy performance. This is our Design & Build approach , which has been proven effective since 1993.
This guarantee isn’t just a slogan. It’s a financial commitment that we’ve put in writing.
An engineering firm sells you a study. We sell you a guaranteed result.
And we can only guarantee a result if we oversee the entire process from start to finish.
Why the improvement plan is not a bid to be put out for competitive bidding
The improvement plan reads like a list of recommendations. One might think that all you have to do is include it in a request for proposals. In reality, it contains much more than just technical details.
In particular, it includes:
- the financing structure and access to grants for industrial energy efficiency, which sometimes cover up to 75% of the total cost;
- comprehensive financial engineering, from technical calculations to financing—a rarity in the market;
- our energy performance contracts (EPCs), monitored in accordance with the IPMVP protocol;
- Continuous monitoring of your energy performance indicators (EPI) via MyPortal3E, which is ISO 50001-certified;
- our contractual performance commitments, with a demonstrable return on investment.
A third party that adopts our recommendations cannot deliver this package. It carries out the work. It provides neither a guarantee of results, nor secured funding, nor performance monitoring.
In other words, you might save money on the bill for the work. But you would lose the guarantee of a successful outcome, the ability to maximize government assistance, and the assurance that production will not be interrupted.
We can only guarantee what we control
That’s the key to our entire model. And it’s a technical issue first and foremost, rather than a business one.
Our contractual energy performance guarantee—known as the 360° guarantee—covers timelines, costs, and energy savings. It also includes grant reimbursements and financing options. Everything is in writing. There are no gray areas.
The day we lose control over the design, the selection of equipment, or the construction, this warranty becomes impossible to honor. It’s not a matter of unwillingness. We simply cannot be held responsible for a project over which we no longer have control.
The picture speaks for itself. An automaker warrants your vehicle. Install a part that hasn’t been certified by a third party, and the warranty is void. Not out of bad faith, but because the automaker no longer has control over the entire system.
Our design-and-build approach is specifically designed to eliminate this risk. A single entity is responsible for everything from design to performance monitoring. Industry research confirms this. On average, this method reduces project timelines by 33% and costs by 6%.
"But I want model Y, not model X, which you're recommending."
That’s probably the most common question. And the apple metaphor explains it better than anything else.
In the industrial world, comparing three bids—as if they were all the same—seems like a safe bet. Yet not all apples are alike.
Some are bred to be long-lasting and produce exceptional value. Others hide flaws beneath a beautiful exterior.
Our equipment recommendation is never an arbitrary or commercial decision. Equipment X was not selected simply because it is our own product. It was chosen because it ensures the achievement of the specified results.
An energy system is not simply a collection of parts. It is an indivisible whole in which air, cooling, and energy interact. Each component has been designed to work in harmony with the others.
If you install Y equipment obtained elsewhere, we have not designed the system to accommodate it. We have not verified either its integration or its performance within the overall system. The warranty is therefore void—not as a matter of principle, but for technical reasons.
Our warranty is based on a system designed as a whole. If equipment is added from outside the system, we can no longer guarantee the result.
Comparing only the purchase price means missing the point. What really matters is the total cost of ownership, energy savings, and the included performance guarantee.
The Right Way to Integrate Specific Equipment
Is there a piece of equipment that’s especially important to you? It’s still possible to proceed. But you’ll need to go through us.
We evaluate Equipment Y. We verify its compatibility and its impact on performance. Then we adjust our commitments accordingly. We handle the integration, and we guarantee it.
The rule is simple. The warranty never applies to a choice that has been imposed and not approved by our engineering department. As soon as we approve the equipment, it becomes covered under the warranty.
What You Really Earn
Our model may seem demanding at first glance. In reality, it shifts the risk from you to us.
By choosing Soteck Clauger as your ESCO partner, you receive five concrete guarantees:
- optimized and guaranteed energy consumption;
- maximizing and securing your grants;
- seamless integration into your production process;
- a budget kept under control through the design-build approach;
- Strict adherence to deadlines, with no delays.
What others see as a limitation is actually our greatest strength. We don’t sell a study for you to carry out on your own. We sell a measurable result, for which we are responsible from concept through maintenance.
Your progress plan is not a quote to be put out for bids.
It’s the start of a commitment to results.
For more than thirty years, we have been turning energy constraints into competitive advantages. This reputation is based on a simple conviction: We only promise a result if we have a firm grasp of what produces it.
That’s the difference between settling for the cheapest option and striving for excellence.
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Have you completed your Flash audit and received your improvement plans?
Let’s talk about what comes next. Our experts will show you how our model safeguards your investment, from design to performance guarantees.
Answers to Our Customers' Frequently Asked Questions
What is an energy services company (ESCO)?
The ESCO model originated in North America following the oil crises of the 1970s. Its fundamental principle is that the provider is compensated based on actual, measured energy savings. In Canada, these companies are also known as energy-efficient service companies (ESE). In practice, the ESCO backs its guarantee with the precision of its engineering. If the promised savings are not achieved, it covers the shortfall.
How does an energy performance contract (EPC) actually work?
Everything is based on a baseline: your current energy consumption, documented before the work begins. The international IPMVP protocol then provides a framework for measuring and verifying energy savings. Each year, the measured results are compared to the contractual commitment. Any shortfall is borne by the ESCO, not by you. It is this mechanism that transforms a commercial promise into a verifiable obligation.
What grants can be combined for an industrial energy efficiency project in Quebec?
Several programs can be combined depending on the target energy source. Examples include Hydro-Québec’s programs for industrial systems, Énergir’s grants, and government programs such as ÉcoPerformance. Each application requires compliant measurement data and a specific submission timeline. When properly structured, this combination of programs can cover up to 75% of a project’s total cost.
How long is the time frame between the Flash Audit and the performance guarantee?
The Flash Audit takes one day on-site. The improvement plan follows about two weeks later. The design and implementation phase then varies depending on the scope of the project. Expect a few months for a targeted initiative, and sometimes more than a year for a complete overhaul. The warranty doesn’t end with implementation. Monitoring of key performance indicators continues for several years via MyPortal3E.
What happens to the warranty if my production conditions change?
It’s stipulated in the contract. The baseline is adjusted according to pre-agreed variables: production volumes, severity of the winter, and operating hours. An increase in production rate or new process equipment therefore does not void the guarantee. The savings are recalculated under equivalent conditions, in accordance with the IPMVP protocol. You’re always comparing apples to apples.