Featured Constellation Customer-Plymouth Bay Winery

Small businesses are extremely important to our economy. They also provide us with specialized products and services that we simply can’t get from large companies or organizations.

Businesses with small teams often find it challenging to manage every aspect of their business. This includes managing energy costs, which can account for a huge chunk of a business’ monthly expenses. There just isn’t enough time to sort through all the opportunities to save on energy costs to determine which are worthwhile, especially with the wide volume of competing ideas, products, offers, and strategies.

We asked Michael Carr, the proprietor of Plymouth Bay Winery, an internationally sought-after winery based in Massachusetts, about how they have been able to reduce their electricity costs. Here is what Michael shared with us.

Q: I am familiar with your successful and expanding product line. But can you share some information about your winery for those that don’t know about it?

Thousands of visitors from all over New England, the U.S. and even Europe visit our winery each year. We offer more than 10 wines made from locally grown and harvested native grapes and berries, and are often viewed as a unique attraction of the area. Our wines are wonderful on their own, but also fun when used in cooking. We publish a series of recipes on our Facebook page encouraging foodies like us to “Play with Bay.” We also just launched a line of jams and jellies made with our wines. My wife Pam and I began running the winery a little more than a year ago, after studying with our friend Tim, who had owned Plymouth Bay Winery for nearly two decades.

Q: Why did you decide to change the winery’s electricity supply agreement?

When we first took over the business we didn’t focus heavily on streamlining operational costs because we were keeping things the way they had been run under the previous owner. About six months ago, we started looking for ways to save – improving our bottom line and freeing up capital to reinvest in the business, which started growing faster than we had anticipated.

Q: How did you hear about Constellation?

A friend of ours put us in touch with an energy management professional who works with business owners in southern Massachusetts. The process was seamless and took very little of our time, which was a relief. I have really enjoyed the professional and helpful relationship that we have established with Constellation, and it’s one we plan to continue. Everyone has been really nice to work with and the people there make it easy to understand options and make decisions we can feel good about.

Q: Would you recommend that other businesses in your area choose Constellation?

I definitely would. I have talked to a couple of other business owners in our complex and told them about the transition and how it’s been a great relationship. I’m sure they’re looking into it now, too. If you can get great service from a service provider and additional savings, then it’s a smart move.

For more information about Plymouth Bay Winery, visit http://www.plymouthbaywinery.com/index.html. Businesses that are interested in learning more about their energy options should visit http://www.constellation.com/business-energy/pages/business-energy.aspx.