What to prepare before requesting a storage proposal

Collect interval data that captures normal operation as well as seasonal or production-related changes. A monthly bill is useful context, but it does not describe when individual peaks occur. Mark planned changes such as new production equipment or electrification projects.

Separate demand management, solar use and backup requirements. These objectives can compete for the same stored energy. Ask how the operating strategy prioritizes them, and which assumptions the proposal uses.

Provide a single-line diagram, connection details and an initial site layout. Identify who owns civil works, protection design, commissioning and ongoing maintenance. A proposal is easier to compare when each supplier answers the same boundary conditions.

Write down the missing information from this guide and assign an owner to each item. Keep the current revision of your brief with the associated drawings and records.

A meaningful storage conversation needs both the required output and the time for which it is required. A documented handover connects installed equipment with the people who will operate and maintain it.

A factory planning demand reduction and a warehouse planning backup may use similar-looking cabinets but need different operating strategies. For the factory, record when peaks occur and which loads can be scheduled. For the warehouse, identify the circuits that must remain available and the required operating duration. Keep these objectives in separate rows of the brief. Ask each proposal to state the assumed load profile, available connection capacity, installation boundary and control sequence. Record exclusions alongside included work, including civil preparation, cabling, metering and operator training. An unexplained difference in scope can look like a price advantage. Before selecting equipment, assign responsibility for a site survey and the engineering decisions that the available information cannot yet support. Keep a dated assumptions register so later changes can be traced back to the commercial comparison.